


A Drop of Poison

by Androgyninja



Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon has been taken out back and shot, Clan Politics, F/F, F/M, Haruno Sakura-centric, M/M, Mokuton User Haruno Sakura, No Uchiha Massacre, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Women Being Awesome, Worldbuilding, me dealing with the headache that is how Kishimoto treats his female characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:42:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 28,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25885264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Androgyninja/pseuds/Androgyninja
Summary: After being humiliated during a sparring match, Sakura realizes that she no longer wants to chase after a boy. With a newfound sense of determination, she sets off to become a truly terrifying kunoichi, making her fair share of friends and enemies along the way.In other words, Sakura discovers who she really wants to be and fucks shit up along the way. And if she poisons a few important people? Well, that's just collateral damage.Begins during Sakura's final year at the academy and then onward.
Relationships: Aburame Shino & Haruno Sakura, Haruno Sakura & Hyuuga Hinata
Comments: 558
Kudos: 1119
Collections: Strong BAMF Sakura





	1. Rip Off Those Rose Tinted Glasses Darling

Sakura had mixed feelings about the Academy.

For one, it was a place to learn! And she was nothing if not a sucker for knowledge. She loved book lessons and would gladly sit through them for _hours_ if it meant she learned something. It didn’t hurt that she was at the top of her class in the theory section either.

On the other hand, days like today where they mainly focused on the practical components, were the worst.

It wasn’t like Sakura didn’t understand why they did them. Obviously they couldn’t properly learn how to throw a punch or a shuriken through explanations alone, but, well, to put it bluntly, Sakura sucked.

Maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but she _did_ lag behind and was painfully aware of it. Her class was filled with clan kids, and, as this was their final year of the Academy, she was the only civilian born left. There had been six of them when she had first started. Two had dropped the first year, another two had been failed enough times that they had given up, and the last had only left the previous year, due to pressure from his family.

They had never really been friends, but there had been this sense of camaraderie. Shared eye rolls when the others bragged, slipped bandages when one of them was purposefully tripped, whispered advice when one of them exceeded at the subject.

Now it was just her.

Of all the practical exercises, she was worst during the sparring matches. Throwing kunai and shuriken wasn’t easy, especially when she had almost no time or space to practice, but Sakura had always been a fast learner so she managed. Her katas were always precise and clean, and while she didn’t have very good stamina, she was able to keep her running time within passing range.

Sparring however, was something else entirely.

Sakura didn’t have the advantages her fellow classmates did. She had no one at home to practice with, and it would be a cold day in hell for a random shinobi to decide to help a mediocre civilian born Academy student. Even the other clanless kids had shinobi parents to help them out, even if they were on missions a lot or weren’t very high ranked.

She didn’t have Kiba’s wild ferocity, or Shino’s calculated movements. She wasn’t graceful like Ino, or timid yet skillful like Hinata. She didn’t have Naruto’s seemingly endless stamina, or Chouji’s heavy punches, or even Shikamaru’s lazy strategies.

All she had was her wits and a desire to win.

It would be accurate to say that Sakura lost more than she won sparring matches, in fact she lost most of her matches. She never won against the clan kids, only managing to beat those with shinobi parents. It didn’t matter if it was a taijutsu only match, because they had people to practice with outside of school, and don’t get her started if ninjutsu was allowed.

She would be lying if she said she hadn’t cried after seeing everything her classmates could do that she couldn’t.

So Sakura watched as Shino and Ami finished their fight, the quiet boy winning as he put the purple haired girl in a ruthless pin she couldn’t get out of.

“Disengage.” Iruka ordered, motioning for the two to separate.

Ami scrambled back with a sneer, ignoring the other’s offered hand. “Don’t touch me bug boy.”

“You seem uncomfortable. Why? Because you do not like the insects my clan hosts in their body.”

She scoffed. “Figure that out all by yourself, did you?”

Iruka bopped them both on the head. “That’s enough of that. Ami, you need to work on your stamina. You still get much sloppier when you’re tired. Shino, drawing a fight out may have worked this time, but in most instances it’s better to finish the fight as quickly as possible so not to attract attention and prevent collateral damage.”

The two accepted their criticisms, one with less grumbling than the other, and went back to where the rest of their class was sitting.

“Next, Sakura and Sasuke.”

The pinkette froze.

It was no secret that she had an _enormous_ crush on the boy. Almost all of the girls did. He was cute, and the top of the class in anything but theory where Sakura reigned supreme. Not to mention was the second son of one of the biggest and most powerful clans in Konoha.

He was just so _amazing_ , and even though she hadn’t gained the courage to ask him out like Ino-pig, one day she would, and they’d live happily ever after!

It was unfortunate that despite how pretty she made her hair look, or how carefully she dressed that he didn’t notice her, but maybe if she impressed him in the spar he would!

Brimming with a new sense of determination, Sakura made her way to the ring where Sasuke was already waiting. His dreamy dark eyes were fixated on her, making her heart stutter in her chest.

“No ninjutsu, genjutsu, or weapons. Begin!”

Sasuke was fast, and most definitely better than her, which meant that going on offense would end badly. Well, more badly than this was already going to go. She had no illusions about winning this fight.

Sakura ducked under his kick, but wasn’t able to avoid the elbow to the face that followed it. Her head jerked to the side, but she managed to slip her ankle in front of his, tripping him and forcing him to back away or fall flat on his face.

They separated once more, and Sakura resisted the urge to wipe the bit of blood that had trickled from her nose.

The third time they clashed Sasuke came at her with a flurry of punches that made pain explode from her abdomen and face. He was too fast for her to block everything, so instead she resigned herself to taking the hits and-there! Sasuke had overextended himself just enough that she was able to grab his wrist.

It wasn’t to flip him, but rather make his retreat more difficult as she slammed her fist into his floating ribs-once, twice-

And suddenly she was on her back struggling to breath with an uncomfortable weight on her chest.

“Disengage.” Came Iruka’s firm voice, and Sakura no longer felt as though she were about to be crushed.

Gingerly picking herself up, the pinkette wasn’t quite able to keep the grin off her face. She’d managed to hit Sasuke. _Twice._ That was more than over half of the class had been able to accomplish.

_This’ll make him notice me for sure!_

“Sakura, good job utilizing your knowledge on your opponent. I don’t recommend using a tactic like that in the field, especially against someone more than willing to kill you, but you strategy was sound. Sasuke-” she forced herself to tamp down on her beaming. “-you underestimated Sakura and you payed for it. If she had had a knife or any type of weapon, she could have killed you.”

Not that she _would_ have. Sakura would never do anything to hurt the boy of her dreams.

Sasuke’s lip curled into a sneer. “She’s not even close to being a threat, so why would I treat her like one?”

_W-what?_

“She’s civilian born, the _most_ she’ll ever amount of is a paper chunnin, and that’s if she even graduates. Why would I waste effort on someone like that?”

Iruka’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “That is _enough._ ” The teacher said firmly. “Ignoring that fact that assumptions like that will get you killed, Sakura is your classmate and deserves your respect.”

Sasuke scoffed. “Respect? Someone like _her?_ The most useful she’ll ever be, is as cannon fodder. Look at her! If she can’t even stand up to me, how will she ever be a shinobi?”

Sakura was frozen in place, shock and hurt coursing though her as the Uchiha’s words registered. She’d known Sasuke hadn’t been especially fond of her, he didn’t pay her any attention but that was how he treated _everyone._ She-she’d thought for sure that once she’d told him of her feelings he would-would a-accept and-and-and-

“She’s shaking for gods sake! How pathetic is that?!” 

Tears began to form in the pinkette’s eyes, but she refused to shed them. She wouldn’t cry in front of the whole class. She _wouldn’t._

“Shut up Sasuke! Don’t be mean to Sakura like that!” The sudden shout startled her, causing her to turn and face the rest of their classmates.

The boy in question rolled his eyes. “You’re even more useless than she is, dead last.”

Naruto crossed his arms. “I’m gonna be Hokage one day, so watch it!”

As the two continued to squabble, she met the eyes of another blonde blue eyed classmate.

Ino was as beautiful as always. There wasn’t a hair out of place, despite the fact that she’d had her _own_ sparring match against Chouji. Sakura-Sakura didn’t know what she was expecting when she met the other girl’s gaze. They had been friends once, _best_ friends, but that had been before they’d both started liking Sasuke and been torn apart.

The bright blue eyes were filled with surprise and smug vindication that Sasuke was rejecting her like that-no. He wasn’t rejecting her feelings. He was rejecting her _worth._ Sakura thought she saw a hint of pity before it was wiped away.

“ _SILENCE_.”

The pinkette would be lying if she said she hadn’t flinched at Irunka’s booming voice. “Naruto, Sasuke, after school detention.”

The Uchiha scowled. “For what?”

“For harassing a fellow classmate and delaying the lesson. Go back to your seats.” It was not a suggestion.

The black-haired boy turned to look at her. _Really,_ look at her. His eyes scanned her from head to toe, a look of disgust on his face.

“It’s not like I said anything that wasn’t true.”

That was all Sakura could take.

Ignoring the shouts behind her, she ran, tears blurring her vision as she stumbled her way into the Academy bathroom. It was mercifully empty, allowing her to cry without fear of witnesses. Even after outgrowing most of her shyness thanks to her former friendship with Ino, she had been bullied for too long to completely erase her of the feeling of constant judgement.

Or maybe it wasn’t just a feeling. Maybe she _was_ being constantly judged. Sasuke sure seemed to have had more than a few things to say about her.

Curling up in a tight ball, Sakura allowed herself to cry.

…

It was Hinata who found her.

The shy Hyuuga tentatively crept inside the washroom, her hand tucking a lock of purpleish black hair behind her ear. “S-Sakura?”

Her tears had dried a while ago, so she felt no shame in meeting the other girl’s gaze.

“I-Iruka-sensei says you c-can go home and t-that t-the sparring m-matches were the last t-thing we were g-going t-to do anyway.”

That was…a relief. Sakura didn’t know if she would have been able to face everyone. Not right now, not when everything was so… _raw._

“Thank you Hinata.” Iruka had probably sent her because she would be able to find her quickly with her Byakugan, and the fact that she was so nice.

The Hyuuga offered a small smile, before seemingly steeling herself. “H-He was w-wrong you know.”

Sakura blinked. “Huh?”

“S-Sasuke.” She clarified. “I-I believe t-that you’ll b-become a shinobi, a really g-good one too. You d-deserve respect no matter your p-parentage.”

Hinata would never truly understand the pain a civilian born kunoichi would go through. She was a clan heiress or an enormous and powerful clan, her spot in the rankings sure the second she was born.

Sakura didn’t have that, would _never_ have that. But even if Hinata didn’t understand…maybe she didn’t have to, to help.

This was the beginning of something, something _important._

It was just a spark, weak and useless at the moment, but could one day turn into a mighty blaze.

_After all, those who build themselves from nothing are often the most terrifying._


	2. Mother Really Does Know Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura gets a pep talk from her mom, and learns something while training.

Mebuki Haruno was no fool.

She may be a civilian, but you learned a thing or two when living in a Hidden Village and having a job that requires you to poke a sharp needle into something repeatedly.

So when her daughter comes home from school with her red eyes and scuffed knees, she knows something is up.

“Did something happen today, sweetie?” she asked. “You look a little down.”

There was a slight pause as Sakura hung up her bag, retrieving the empty lunch kit from inside. “We…had a sparring day today.” She said eventually. “Taijutsu only.”

That explained her knees, but something told Mebuki that there was more to the story. It would be far from the first time that her daughter had come home frustrated and angry after school, ranting about how if they wanted her to meet their expectations then they should give her the same attention they did the clan kids.

It grated her that her precious child was being ignored and disregarded and had gone to the school on more than one occasion to confront those in charge about it. Unfortunately, all she had gotten was a patronizing explanation that ‘if Sakura can’t handle it, then it would be for the best that she dropped out of the Academy’. Not like the bullying her daughter was suffering didn’t have anything to do with becoming a shinobi.

Mebuki waited patiently for Sakura to continue.

“Iruka-sensei put me against Sasuke-ku-Sasuke.” The pinkette seemed to curl into herself, her small frame tucking itself into the corner of the sofa.

That match up was not even remotely fair. Mebuki knew from her daughter’s numerous times gushing about the boy, that he was the top of their class in practical, and second in theory. Not to mention a child of one of the most powerful clans in Konoha.

She took a seat next to Sakura. “How did it go?”

Small hands curled into fists. “It…wasn’t a long fight.” Sakura admitted. “But I managed to hit him. _Twice._ ”

Pride swelled in Mebuki’s chest.

“I thought-I thought that since he-he never seemed to look at me even when I was being ladylike, maybe impressing him in a spar would do. Only-only _half_ of the clan kids have hit him twice in one spar so I thought-” She broke off, a sob replacing whatever she had been going to say next.

Sakura may be training to be a shinobi-a glorified killer for her country-but she is still a child, still only eleven years old. So Mebuki doesn’t think twice about wrapping her arms around her daughter as she cries. Holds her, even as the tears dry and she quiets down to explain the rest of what happened.

“After he beat me, he-he said that I wasn’t worth respecting. And that I was _pathetic._ ” The pinkette’s lips pursed. “He said all I would ever be good for was cannon fodder.”

Mebuki was not generally an angry woman. She had her moments of course, but as a whole, she was a very level-headed individual. With Sakura being so young and Kizashi’s head always in the clouds, someone needed to be.

This however, made her blood boil.

There was no excuse for the words that boy had spat. Absolutely none. She may not have fought in the war, but she had seen its consequences, seen death hang over her home more than once. Mebuki knew that those seen as lesser-almost always clanless shinobi-were thrown to the dogs so that those deemed more important could survive.

To have her daughter- _her only child_ -compared to those masses of dead, made her want to track down the boy and his parents and give them a talking to they would never forget. Mebuki may be a civilian, but she still had a spine, and she would _not_ tolerate someone speaking to her child in that way.

“I ran away after.” Sakura said quietly. “He got detention and Iruka-sensei sent Hinata to tell me I could go home.”

Taking a deep breath, Mebuki squeezed her daughter tightly. “You could never be pathetic, sweetheart. Not in a million years. You deserve respect and I am so, so proud of you.”

Sakura snuggled closer. “I just-I don’t understand why he would say that.” Her voice was heartbreakingly confused. “I-I never did anything bad to him, and I _like_ him so why-why would be say those things?”

Mebuki petted her hair. “There is no excuse for the things he said,” she said softly. “It doesn’t matter if he was angry, or embarrassed, or upset. He purposely hurt you and clearly does not regret it.” She wished her daughter did not have to learn this lesson so early, but she needed to nip this at the bud before it became unhealthy. Or, more unhealthy than it already had been.

Sakura’s green eyes met hers. “How are we supposed to be together if-if he thinks so little of me?”

She tucked a lock of pink hair behind her daughter’s ear. “Sweetie, how did Sasuke saying those things make you feel?”

The kunoichi in training tilted her head in confusion but answered anyway. “Bad…”

"Do you think that being with Sasuke would make you happy then? If he makes you feel bad?”

Sakura opened her mouth before closing it with an audible _click._

“Lasting relationships are built on mutual care and respect, and from what you’re telling me, he checks off neither boxes.” Mebuki pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You deserve so much better than someone who hurt you like this.”

The fact that that boy thought her baby to be so beneath him that he hadn’t even understood why he was being punished, disgusted her. How _dare_ he act as though he were inherently better than her when she had less than half his resources and yet still managed to beat him in class. It may only be the theory section, but information was key in any job.

The pinkette was silent for a long time.

“So…now what?” she asked.

Mebuki was not a shinobi, but one thing she did know, was that it was best to refocus your efforts when something failed. “I think you should consider what _you_ want.”

This was something she had asked her daughter before. She had neither encouraged nor dissuaded her from her path to become a shinobi. That was Sakura’s choice alone.

Slowly, the pinkette shook herself of her mother’s grip and sat up, spine straight and unyielding.

“I am going to get better.” She said firmly. “I am going to train and read and read and read until I know everything backwards. I am going to show _all of them_ , what it means to be a civilian born kunoichi.”

Mebuki loves her daughter, and she knows, that one day, her baby will blossom into someone truly terrifying.

…

Sticking to her new goal is both harder and easier than Sakura anticipated.

Normally, she arrived at school early and tried to get a seat close to Sasuke before reviewing her notes. She had hoped that looking astute would endear him to her, but also it was a good way to solidify her knowledge.

She almost started walking to her usual spot before catching herself and going in the opposite direction. There were several seats open, but many people she did _not_ want to be next to. She was safe from Ino and the other fangirls since she was nowhere near Sasuke, but that still left people like Naruto and Kiba who were far from ideal to be beside.

Eventually, she slid into a seat in between Shino and Hinata in the second last row.

“Can I sit here?” She questioned.

Hinata gave her a timid smile and nodded. “I h-hope you’re feeling better t-today.”

Now that the other girl mentioned it, she did feel…lighter, almost. A weight she hadn’t realized had been pressing down on her lifted. “I am, thanks again for yesterday.” The pressure of wanting to be perfect for Sasuke was gone, now that it was abundantly clear that she would never be good enough in his eyes.

_“She’s civilian born, the most she’ll ever amount of is a paper chunnin, and that’s if she even graduates.”_

“You’re w-welcome.”

On the other side, Shino pushed up his glasses. “I have no adverse feelings to you sitting there. Why? Because you are always quiet during lessons and will likely not disrupt my concentration.”

Coming from him, that was practically a glowing review.

Not long after, Iruka comes in and yells for silence. If he notices the changes in seating (which of course he does, the man may be a teacher but he is a shinobi) he doesn’t say anything.

The morning is…not terrible. Everyone has apparently moved on from yesterday’s drama, for which Sakura is grateful. She knows the talk with Mom helped a lot, but part of her still ached.

She very nearly follows Sasuke out to eat lunch out of habit, but still raw memories halt her movements before she can go more than a step.

_"Pathetic.”_

Forcefully pushing the thought out of her mind, she turned to Hinata once more. “Would you like to eat together?” she asked.

The pupiless girl blinked before smiling once more. “T-That sounds good.”

Lunch with Hinata is…different. Neither of them are particularly loud, and they’ve never really hung out before, but it was a nice companionable silence.

As class is let out for the day, Sakura stays behind.

“Iruka-sensei, is it possible for me to use the school training grounds after hours?” she questioned. “I can’t reserve any on my own, and don’t have anyone to do it for me.”

You could only reserve a training ground if you were at least a genin. She’d overheard several of her classmates say that their parents did it for them, or if they were clan kids, had grounds in their compounds. Someone like her had no chance, especially since asking a shinobi outside of school would likely result in dismissal at best.

The man blinked. “For training?”

The surprise on his expression grated, but how could she blame him when just yesterday she wouldn’t’ve even thought of it.

Still, she smiled brightly. “Yup! I know I’m not failing Practical, but I really want to get my marks up. You’re always telling us practice is important, so I figured that it was never too late to start!”

Iruka paused for a moment. “That should be fine, just make sure to let at least one teacher know when you’re planning on using them. Some other shinobi like to train there, and it wouldn’t be good for you to get caught in that.”

She tries to not feel insulted. She knows that he’s saying it because she hasn’t even graduated yet, and _of course_ real shinobi could potentially hurt her but-

It stings.

She can’t help but feel that if it were someone else, _~~anyone else, you’re pathetic pathetic pathetic~~_ he wouldn’t have given the same warning.

…

Sakura didn’t have anyone to spar with, so she worked on her shuriken and kunai throwing as well as her katas. She remembers the instructions of her teachers and does the repetitions again and again and again.

Her muscles _ache_ from the extra exertion, unused to the added exercise, but she refuses to let that stop her. Every time she feels like giving up, she forces herself to remember.

_“The most useful she’ll ever be, is as cannon fodder.”_

Her wrist snaps, sending the shuriken flying. It hits three inches from the bullseye.

It had been two weeks since her fight with Sasuke, and she wondered if she was kidding herself. There had been only microscopic improvements in her technique despite spending almost twice the amount of time she used to on the movements.

Her mother had reminded her to be patient, and that changes wouldn’t happen overnight, but with every slightly off throw, every mediocre kata, she couldn’t help but think they were right about her.

While Sasuke had been the most obvious in his distain, talking in front of the teacher like it was nothing, _~~like he never had to worry about consequences~~_ , he was far from the only one who had spoken to her like that.

It had been better when there were other civilian born kids, the teasing had been spread out more. Despite the fact that the clanless kids who still had shinobi family were still seen as less than the clan kids, there wasn’t the same silent sense of camaraderie. No, most of the time they were just glad there was someone lower on the food chain than them.

The sound of heavy hoof steps broke Sakura from her musings.

Coming towards her was a large boar, thick bodied with long tusks and a mean look in its beady little eyes.

And it was heading right for her.

The pinkette’s mouth went dry as her heart began thudding painfully loud in her chest. She should be braver than this-shinobi didn’t get scared by wild animals-yet here she was, practically shaking.

_Running will make it chase you, and it’s definitely faster._ Sakura swallowed. _I need to get up a tree, but how to stall it?_

Her hand wrapped around the hilt of a kunai, knowing that it was unlikely that she’d have the strength to break through the boar’s thick skin, and that even if she did, it wouldn’t amount to much damage.

The boar closed the distance between them.

Sakura had never been gladder that Iruka had drilled them in dodging because she very narrowly escaped the boar’s tusks as it ran right past where she’d just stood, going headfirst into a thick gathering of bushes.

Not wasting a second, she quickly grabbed the branches of the nearest tree and pulled herself up, climbing as quickly as her trembling hands would allow her.

The boar let out a deep roar, aggressively tearing through the bushes in an attempt to free itself.

Sakura saw the snake an instant before it struck, teeth sinking deep into the wild pig’s leg. The creature in question let out a pained noise, kicking back its legs in an attempt to dislodge the reptile.

The boar thrashed wildly, its efforts slowly becoming weaker and weaker until it fell limp to the ground.

The black snake, which she now recognized as a mambushi, slithered away calmly, disappearing back into the thick foliage.

The boar must have startled it when it had been thrashing around in the bushes, and the snake had bitten in self defense and surprise.

Sakura carefully dropped back to the ground.

She hadn’t even touched it, yet there it lay, dead, despite the fact that it was naturally larger and more powerful than both her and the snake.

It was then that it dawned on her.

_Poison._

Because poison didn’t care whether you were bigger or stronger or would win in a fair fight. It didn’t care if you had a special bloodline limit or extra training.

It killed you all the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: i rewrote this chapter because the version before didn't make the most sense, so here's hopping this is better. I didn't change too much except the scene in the woods, and the take away is the exact same, so you don't have to read it if you don't want to. Boars are naturally more aggressive, so i thought that would fit better, and as for why it was in the training grounds even in the middle of the city? well, its still the woods, and there will still be wild animals in there. Yes its smaller, but like, from what we see its pretty big and so i'm going to allow this one minor potential plot hole to stand for this to make sense.
> 
> Thanks to Birdeer for coming up with this idea and letting me use it. You are a gem.
> 
> Anyway, let us resume to the normal notes.
> 
> Hey y'all, i hope you're having a good day.
> 
> I didn't touch on this last chapter, so i'm going to now.
> 
> First, Ino and Sakura will rekindle their friendship eventually. I didn't mean to make her into a bad person in the last chapter, just an 11 year old girl with a crush on a boy who hasn't matured enough yet to realize what she's doing is wrong. I wanted to show that there is nothing wrong with having a crush or being an 11 year old girl, as long as it's healthy. I hate it when media pits women and girls against each other, specifically for the affections of a man. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's exhausting to have to see. Girls and women should support one another.
> 
> Second, in this fic, the Uchiha massacre did not happen. One of the ways Danzo was able to get away with it, was through fear and distrust of the Uchiha after the Kyuubi attack, not to mention Shisui feeding him information to stop the Uchiha coup. In this au, the backlash against the Uchiha was canceled out by the civilians and other people who were saved by them, because the police force was focusing on evacuation. This way, the Uchiha never got pushed out and threatened enough to feel like a coup was the only option for them, thus cancelling any sway Danzo would have with Shisui and so forth.
> 
> Third, i realize i make Sasuke a dick. Yes, it was on purpose. Personally, i believe that despite the fact that his family and clan are still alive, he would still be a dick, at least for a while for several reasons. One, i don't know if you've noticed, but a lot of the Uchiha have a stick up their ass. They're not great at being social 99% of the time, and even when they're not trying to be jerks they put their foot in their mouths. Two, because there was no push back after the Kyuubi attack, the Uchiha are one of the most powerful and influential clans in the village, something you know they would talk about and be dickish about at times. That power would make others impressed, and like we see, give them a bit of a big head. Kids mimic the behavior of the adults around them, so i can see that strongly affecting him. Three, Sasuke is the little brother of Itachi. He is probably constantly being compared to him, and that would give anyone a bad attitude eventually. It doesn't help that Itachi is a away a lot of the time because of ANBU shit, and that he is the clan head's second son. He's under a lot of pressure to be really good, and i can see all of these elements combining to make him a grade A dick.
> 
> These are not excuses. What he did and will do is wrong, and he should be reprimanded and disciplined for it, these are just what i believe to be the causes. He will get better eventually, but at the moment he's just a bratty 11 year old who thinks he's better than others because he has fancy eyes and lots of money.
> 
> I have not yet decided what the pairings of this fic will be. If you have any suggestions, feel free to comment them down below. Just a warning, i will not put Sakura with anyone more than 5 years older than her, nor Sasuke or Naruto.
> 
> I'm still kinda salty that she ended up marrying Sasuke tbh. 
> 
> Anyway, that's all for this chapter.
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome, hate will be laughed at and the gay will be strong.
> 
> Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye


	3. And So She Learned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura begins her research on poisons and asks a favor.

Sakura approached her research on poisons with a single-minded intensity that surprised even her.

Maybe it was the fact that she didn’t _need_ to be special to learn and use them, she didn’t _need_ to be anything but a bookworm with a library card. For someone who had seen time and time again the advantages of those around her had, the idea of something so easily accessible yet useful made her itch for more knowledge.

She started simple.

The number of books she was able to access compared to the ones in the library made her grit her teeth, but as always, she worked with what she had. As an Academy student, her clearance was barely above that of a civilian, baring her from even _touching_ that majority of the scrolls and books.

(Not for lack of trying. She was not at all ashamed to admit that she had attempted to sneak into the areas restricted to her on more than one occasion. She’d stopped after they threatened to ban her from the library entirely, but she would never regret her actions in the pursuit of knowledge.)

Still, it was easy enough to find a book on plants. There weren’t any that she could access that directly spoke of poisons, but if she was able to identify the plants she could begin collecting her own. It was enough.

It would have to be.

Sakura only had three months until the graduation test, and ~~if~~ when she passed, she’d be placed on a genin team. It was likely that she’d be put on a team with two other clanless kids, seeing as she didn’t have any specialization like some of the others.

So every day after she trains in the back of the Academy she visits the library. She reads and reads and reads, sometimes not moving for hours at a time as she consumes scroll after scroll, book after book. She memorises every plant in Fire Country and begins on those in Suna, Iwa, Kiri, Kumo-from anywhere and everywhere-if she can get her hands on it. She studies venomous animals like the snake she saw and learns where they live and what they look like.

She reads because it’s what she’s good at.

She reads and she learns.

…

“S-Sorry Sakura, my f-father doesn’t want me t-to train with you.”

The pinkette resisted the urge to scowl, instead giving a nod to the other girl. “I understand. Thanks for asking.” It wasn’t Hinata’s fault her family wouldn’t allow them to train together so there was no use in being angry at her.

After more than a month of practice, it had come to Sakura’s attention that as necessary as drilling in movements like throwing kunai and shuriken, there was only so much solo practice could do.

She didn’t have anyone to train with outside of school, so she’d asked the one person she’d felt she could comfortably say was a friend. Sakura should have known better, Hinata was the Hyuuga Heiress after all, why would they want to sully their clan’s reputation by having her train with a clanless civilian born girl. 

_~~Maybe if she keeps ignoring the pain and rage bundled in her chest it will go away.~~ _

She didn’t exactly have many options, and the only other person she even _talked_ to semi-regularly was…

Shino pushed up his glasses, posture straight and stoic as he stared at the board Iruka was writing on.

Him.

_I really need someone to spar with._

So Sakura steeled herself, and determined to ask him after class.

It had been three months since her disastrous fight with Sasuke and her conversation with her mother. She hadn’t realized how much she’d payed attention to him until she was actively trying to stop. Even now she would occasionally find herself going to sit beside him out of habit, or watching the back of his head instead of paying attention to Iruka.

Sakura forced herself to stop every time.

It was…unexpectedly freeing to not have to constantly wonder what he was doing and focus on herself. There was also the added benefit of the other girls not bothering her as much, now that she wasn’t a love rival. Even Ino barely looked in her direction.

She wasn’t sure if she was relived or hurt with being so easily forgotten.

The end of the school day was anticlimactic, with Iruka merely reminding them to finish their homework by the end of the week. Quickly packing as to not lose her target, Sakura turned to Shino.

“Hey, Shino? Can I ask you to do me a favour?”

The bug obsessed boy paused. “That depends on the favour. Why? Because I do not wish to promise something and then not deliver.”

“It’s nothing big,” she assured him, except it _was_ , for her anyway. “I just need someone to spar with outside of school, and was wondering if you would mind practicing with me.”

Shino’s brow furrowed.

Sakura tried not to be disappointed. Why would his answer be any different from Hinata’s? She talked to him even less often and they could barely be considered friends. It was fine, she’d figure something-

“That is acceptable. Why? Because we are not often paired up in class and it would be a useful experience.”

_Wait what?_

She blinked hard. “You’re agreeing to spar with me?”

The boy tilted his head. “Yes, was my response not clear?”

Sakura fought the urge to squeal in joy-she didn’t want to scare Shino off-as she shook her head. “Sorry! I just wasn’t expecting you to agree.”

He continued staring at her.

“Would-Would you be able to join me today? Or is another time better?” She couldn’t believe her luck.

“Today is acceptable. Why? Because I have no other engagements. Where do you regularly train?”

The pinkette hunched into herself slightly. “I uh, I just use the school grounds.”

His brow furrowed. “Those are the poorest quality of grounds, why would you train there?”

Sakura pushed down a wave of anger and shame. “It’s not exactly like civilian-borns have a lot of places to train.” She said, the words coming out sharper than she wanted them to. “I don’t have any clan grounds and I can’t reserve any other training areas until I make genin.”

She doesn’t know what she’ll do if he mocks her, but it will be violent and loud and everything she doesn’t want to seem like.

“I apologize. Why? Because it seems my question has upset you. I was unaware of your lack of resources.”

She blinked in surprise. “Oh…um…it’s fine.” She attempted a smile.

“Would you like to come to my clan compound to train?” he questioned. “I may not be able to allow you in if you are alone, but if I accompany you to train no one should take issue with it.”

Her? Train at a clan compound with the best grounds? _Hell_ _yes._

…

Sakura’s excitement turned into anxiety as they neared the compound.

“Are you sure your family would be okay with this?” She asked. “I thought that most clans don’t like people just coming in.”

She would much rather be denied right away than be kicked out once they got in. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle the humiliation.

Shino glanced at her. “They should have no complaints.” He responded. “Why? Because I invited you.”

His words did little to quell the nerves fluttering in her stomach.

They only saw two people on their way to the training grounds, for which Sakura was grateful. There had been a lanky man carrying an armful of scrolls, and an old woman sitting on her porch, cutting an apple and putting a piece to the side for the insects around her. Both had been wearing similar clothing to Shino; large, high collared coats and tinted glasses.

Sakura tried not to be bitter as she saw the pristine state the training area is in.

“Where do you want to start?”

…

She lost.

A lot.

Even though close combat wasn’t Shino’s specialty, he could still beat her in plain Taijutsu and she had bruises on top of bruises after the first training session.

He was nicer about it than Sasuke had ever been about his victories.

Though she hadn’t had the courage to ask if this was just a one off, Shino invited her to come again on Thursday.

Thus began their routine.

Sakura still trained solo most days, but now twice a week she walked to the Aburame compound with Shino and sparred with him.

They didn’t often fight all out, or using all of their abilities, but they didn’t need to. Besides, it was good practice for if they ever were handicapped in some way.

She hadn’t realized it before, but Shino was much more awkward than she’d originally thought. Sakura had assumed his loner nature was due to choice, but it became clear the more time she spent with him that he wasn’t very good at talking to people. He was a strange mixture of sure of his logic, and unsure of the people around him.

It was around the fifth week of their sparring when someone took notice.

Sakura hadn’t realized he was there, but in her defense she was much more focused on the barrage of kunai Shino had just sent flying at her.

She managed to avoid being cut, but at the expense of several bruises on her arms and knees that she would no doubt feel later. Scooping up a handful of dirt, she tossed it in the boy’s eyes before lunging with kunai in hand.

He managed to twist himself out of the way, but she switched her arms trajectory and hit his shoulder joint with the butt of her blade, causing him to stumble. Unfortunately, it also made her lose her balance.

They separated and regrouped.

“Well fought.”

Sakura was _not at all_ proud of the squeak she let out as she whipped her head towards the unknown voice.

A tall man with spikey black hair and a cream coloured coat stood several feet to the side, his features familiar for a reason she can’t place.

Shino straightened from his stance, as pleased as she’d ever seen him look. “Father.”

Sakura, who had been in the process of relaxing her posture, stiffened. _This_ was Shino’s _dad?_ As in, the _head of the Aburame clan?_

Scrambling to remember the proper way to address the man, she fell into a quick bow, suddenly a thousand times more aware of her unkept hair and filthy clothes. It wasn’t surprising considering she’d been thrown to the ground more than once this afternoon, but it didn’t make it any less embarrassing.

“It’s nice to meet you Aburame, sir.” She said politely, trying not to show how anxious she was. “I’m Sakura Haruno, one of Shino’s classmates.”

Was that okay? Should she have waited for him to directly talk to her first? God, she hoped he didn’t make them stop training together.

_It was nice while it lasted._

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well,” the man said. “Shino has told us much about you.”

She smiled awkwardly. “All good things I hope.”

The Aburame were notoriously hard to read, but after spending so much time around Shino, she was pretty sure the miniscule upturn of his lips was a smile. At least, she hoped so.

“Is there something you needed, father?” Shino questioned, and if she didn’t know better she would have sworn the tips of his ears were red. “You are usually busy with the fields this time of year.”

The clan head did the Aburame equivalent of a grin. “I’ve come to invite Sakura to dinner.” He explained. “I meant to do so earlier, but had come too late to catch you.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose.” She said quickly, trying to think of a way out that wouldn’t be rude.

“You wouldn’t be imposing,” the man said. “Why? Because I am inviting you. Is there a conflict timing with your family?”

Sakura very much wished there was. In reality, the day before her mother had warned her that she would be working late at the shop and her father wasn’t due to be home for another three weeks.

She could always lie, but-

But Shino was looking at her as eagerly as he was capable of. He was helping her get better, _and_ allowing her access to his clan training grounds. She could survive one family dinner if it made him happy.

“Nope! Both my parents are away from the house right now.”

Somehow the elder Aburame’s gaze seemed approving. “Then would you mind joining us for dinner?”

_Please don’t be a mistake please don’t be a mistake please don’t be a mistake-_

“I would love to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, hope you're having a good day.
> 
> Ok so, i am aware that the ending of last chapter was a little heavy handed. It was not subtle. At all. I honestly couldn't think of a better way to get this scene across, so, that's what i wrote. I am interested in hearing what alternative scenes you guys would come up with to spark that interest in poison in Sakura while conveying the same message. No i am not being sarcastic, if i like one of your ideas enough and have your permission, i would 100% rewrite that chapter. Editing and constructive criticism is what helps writers grow, so i am all for that.
> 
> On another note, Yay! Shino and Sakura's friendship is progressing! I originally was going to have Hinata be the one to help her improve, but then realized that Hinata's dad is a dick, and would likely not allow Hinata to be anywhere without his permission and knowledge, and would never want to have his clan associated with a civilian born.
> 
> Also, let's talk about Hinata's dad real quick. What. The. Fuck. Remember how he killed that one cloud fucker and then the cloud village (in some weirdly demanding politics considering that THEY were the ones who broke the peace treaty. Nice job Hiruzen.) demanded he be sent to them so they could have his eyes. The village obviously doesn't want that to happen so they instead send his twin brother-aka, Neji's dad. They make it seem like it was Hizashi's choice, but in reality, if he hadn't chosen to do so, the clan elders or village leaders would have likely forced him to, considering that he would be deemed less valuable than Hiashi. So saying it was his choice would be a little misleading. Also, we're supposed to like him more after he reveals this to Neji, but hey, remember the fact that he emotionally abused his daughter and pitted his children against each other, and instead of telling Hinata that it's okay not to want to fight that she was a failure? because i do. Also remember how he continued a barbaric and cruel practice to seal l i t e r a l children with an obedience seal making it so that they were practically slaves and could be forced to do literally anything by the main house? Cause i fucking do.
> 
> In conclusion, fuck that guy, and fuck Kishimoto for trying to make him seem better than the fuckwad he is.
> 
> I actually really like the Aburame clan, and was disappointed that they didn't go more in detail with each clan, Like you get the general idea, but i want more of that, especially since there is so much potential. For instance, i would think that the Aburame would have a lot to do with the crops Konoha and Fire Country produce, because there are a lot of bugs that are helpful to their growth and they would know the best ways to keep away bugs that were harmful.
> 
> But you know, who cares about world building? clearly not Kishimoto since he threw his out the window for bigger ninja battles.
> 
> Remember when the water dragon Zabuza and Kakashi threw at each other was considered powerful?
> 
> Good times.
> 
> In other news, i will be removing all plot armor and vetoing the moon goddess and all that other bullshit. No reincarnations for you.
> 
> Also, remember how Itachi unlocked the Mangekyo by killing his clan? would he even have it without the Uchiha massacre? i'm trying to decide whether he should or not so let me know your opinions.
> 
> I'm glad that most of you have similar opinions to me when it comes to Sakura's love life. It will depend on how the fic develops, but she will probably end up with Shikamaru. Let me know any other couples with the other characters you are interested in seeing.
> 
> Next chapter will be the family dinner.
> 
> Ask me random questions, i find them fun.
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome, hate will be laughed at and the gay will be strong.
> 
> Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye.


	4. Dinner With The Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura has dinner with the Aburame's and learns something about herself.

Sakura doesn’t know what she expected, but this wasn’t it.

Shino’s house was large, branching off into several directions. There was an enormous dining area, and the roof was at least thirty feet up. Despite the size however, the inside wasn’t all that full.

“This area is for clan dinners or celebrations.” Shino explained when she asked. “We do not often use this area of the house.”

The elder Aburame led them into a much cozier section portion of their home. There were books and plants littered everywhere, as well as pictures of the family.

“Why don’t you kids go clean up before dinner.” Sakura managed to surpass her second squeal of the day, turning to see a pale woman with dark brown hair. “The food is nearly ready.”

The pinkette very much wished she had a change of clothes, but was thankful none the less for the opportunity to make herself look slightly less like she’d been rolling around in the dirt. She had been, but that wasn’t the point.

This was her first impression on clan leaders, even if it was a simple dinner. If she messed up here, she could kiss any future help from the Aburame goodbye, no matter if she remained being friends with Shino.

After the bathroom door closed, she took off her shirt, shaking it out to the best of her ability. There wasn’t nearly enough time to wash it, so she just did the same with her pants. Sakura didn’t have a brush on her, so she simply put her long hair in a braid in an attempt to hide its tangles, before scrubbing her arms and face with soap and water.

When she looked in the mirror again, she was at least somewhat presentable.

_Come on Sakura, you’re twelve years old. You can handle one dinner._

Stealing herself, Sakura opened the door.

…

Shibi did not know what to think of Shino’s friend.

She’d had no problem tussling with his son in the dirt, but had looked obviously uncomfortable with her appearance as soon he had made himself known.

He’d been able to gather that she was a civilian born Academy student from his son’s tales and was surprised at how close they seemed. While there were exceptions, most children and even adult shinobi found the insects their clan hosted disturbing, their lack of visible emotions only making it worse.

His wonderful wife glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Well?”

Shiori knew him too well. “I find it unlikely she’s only friends with him out of a desire to garner more connections.”

As much as Shibi would like to believe Shino was able to form meaningful relationships with people who had no ulterior motive, he was a shinobi, and you never left that paranoia behind, even at home.

Their fears were not unfounded; it would be far from the first time that those less fortunate had attempted to gain favor by becoming friends with their clan peers. It didn’t happen as often with the Aburame, but it happened none the less.

On paper, Sakura Haruno fit the bill. Civilian born, but talented and stubborn enough to stay on route to being a kunoichi despite the unfair advantages her peers around her had. The lack of outside help for children without shinobi in their families had always confused Shibi, since producing more and competent soldiers was something the village would benefit from. It was only logical that they be given at the very least lessons outside the classes at the Academy.

Despite that, the pinkette showed very few signs of deception, her affection for Shino coming off clear as day. Someone looking for connections would have jumped at the chance to have dinner with the head of any clan, yet she’d only decided to after seeing how much Shino hoped she would.

Shibi was glad. The Aburame had few allies and even fewer friends. Seeing his son with someone he would be able to trust eased his mind.

The girl in question edged her way into the dinning room, hair now swept into a braid and most of the dirt scrubbed from her skin.

“Is there anything I can help with?” She questioned.

He saw an approving glint in Shiori’s eyes. “There’s cutlery in the drawer next to me, if you could place them on the table that would be lovely.”

Shibi busied himself with seasoning the vegetables, handing the dish to a fresh clothed Shino. There was a comfortable silence as the four of them worked together, and soon the table was set and the food was laid out.

“How was the Academy?” Shiori asked. “You had a quiz today, didn’t you?”

His son nodded, taking a bite of the potatoes. “It was to identify the different symptoms of poisons, as well as their potential cures.” He explained. “I am sure I answered everything correctly except the final bonus question.”

“Oh, that was yew.” Sakura spoke up, looking considerably more cheered than before. “There isn’t a cure for it because there are rarely any warning signs and people don’t figure it out until it’s too late. Not much use is creating an antidote for something when most of the people it kills won’t even know they’ve been poisoned.”

It was…somewhat surprising that she’d been able to answer the question while Shino had not. Not because she was civilian born or anything ridiculous like that, but rather because while poisons weren’t generally what they focused on, the Aburame were very familiar with plants as they were a part of the ecosystem their insects lived in. It wasn’t something most Academy students would know, as most of them focused on the flashier parts of shinobi training.

Shino’s brow furrowed. “I do not recall that being in the notes.”

The pinkette shrugged. “I read it somewhere else. That’s probably why it was a bonus question.”

“Are you interested in poisons?” Shibi questioned.

Sakura glanced away. “I uh, I’ve been doing some reading.” She said shyly. “I don’t-I don’t have a premade specialty like the clan kids or some of the shinobi born ones, so I figured that I could focus on poison. You don’t have to be special to use it.”

She didn’t say _and I’m not special_ , but she might as well have.

…

There was a silence at the table, and Sakura internally cursed herself. Why would they care about what she was researching? Hopefully they didn’t use that as a reason for why she wouldn’t be able to train with Shino. God she could already imagine it. _“You’re looking into poisons to make up for the fact that you’re not actually good? You clearly aren’t good enough to train with Shino._

“Poisons take a lot of time to specialize in, so it is a good idea to get a head start.” Shiori said with a nod. “However I recommend not experimenting until you have a teacher to supervise you.”

She let out a surprised laugh. “Oh god no! I’m not stupid enough to do that. I’ve read enough of the potential side effects to put me off of even considering doing something like that.” Tension she hadn’t realized was there bled out of her shoulders.

Shibi took a bite of a carrot. “Are you able to preform the Academy three?” he questioned.

And, coming from anyone else, she might have been offended, but there was something about the way he was asking that didn’t rouse her temper. He wasn’t asking as though he expected she wouldn’t be able to, but rather out of necessity for his following question. For all the socially awkward statements the Aburame made, she was coming to understand that they weren’t asking to be rude, rather for logic and curiosity. They saw no need to hide their own flaws because that was illogical and would hinder their progress, so they probably assumed the same of others.

“I can.” She affirmed.

“Sakura is one of the best in our class at creating the henge.” Shino chimed in. “And has consistently been one of the first to pick up chakra exercises.”

The pinkette blinked in surprise. She hadn’t realized that he’d been paying attention. Despite the fact that it had gotten her harassed even more on the days the teachers praised her, it had been one of the only things that had kept her going when she considered leaving the Academy.

The man considered her, expression unreadable behind the high collar and tinted glasses. “You do not have access to jutsu books or any other way to get techniques that aren’t taught at the Academy.” It wasn’t a question.

Sakura shook her head anyway, unsure of where this was going.

“Would you like to have a piece of chakra paper?”

She froze.

Did she want a piece of chakra paper? What kind of question was that?! Of _course_ she wanted one! Even if she wasn’t able to begin learning any elemental jutsu until she graduated, she’d be able to start her research and have a head start.

“Yes.” She blurted out. “That-yes.”

Her cheeks were burning, and she resisted the urge to fidget under the collective gaze of the three Aburame. The majority of the food had been eaten, and now there were very few excuses she could use to look away.

“Come with me.”

…

Sakura had done her best not to gawk at the large house, but when they got to the library she wasn’t able to contain herself.

Shelves stacked to the ceiling, wall to wall and completely filled with books. It was fuller than the one she went to, books in pristine condition and she’d be afraid to even _touch_ one of them.

Yet her fingers twitched with the urge to run a finger across their spine.

_And you’ll never be able to read any of them._ A nasty voice sneered in her head.

Shibi had gone behind several shelves, instructing her to stay where she was. The lack of supervision made it even more tempting to take a look at just one book, just to see a glimpse. She resisted however, not wanting to get on the family’s bad side.

It turned out to be the right decision, as the man returned swiftly, holding a small square of paper. He wordlessly offered it to her.

Sakura hesitated. Was is unfair that she found out her chakra natures before the other kids? She knew this was generally something the jounin sensei would do for their genin…

_Unfair? Like how they get extra help at home? Like the better equipment they’re just handed? Like their futures which they don’t need to worry about?_

Her hand closed around the paper.

It was smoother than she was expecting as well as several times thicker than the type she used for school.

“Are you aware of how to use it?” Shibi questioned.

Sakura bit her lip. “I just channel chakra into it, right? And it’ll either burst into flame, crumple, crumble, be cut in half or get soggy.”

Shino tilted his head. “Have you researched this before?”

She shrugged. “I like to read.” _~~It’s the only thing I’m good at.~~_ Taking a deep breath, she pushed a small amount of chakra into the paper.

It immediately folded in her hand, the now wet parchment folding heavily before completely crumbling in her hand and onto the floor.

_Oh._

“It appears you have two chakra natures.” Shibi said, just as unreadable as before. “Earth is not exactly common, and I believe water is extremely rare for a Fire Country shinobi, despite the fact that our first Hokage had both.”

Sakura knew exactly why she had water nature and there was absolutely no way she was going to say anything about it.

Water nature may be rare in Fire Country, but in Water Country it was all too common. Her father had been born in Kiri and moved to Konoha when he was in his early twenties. He didn’t say much about his birthland, but she knew he had moved because the third Mizukage had been steadily making things worse, and it had been dangerous. Her father was no shinobi, but that didn’t spare him from any of the harsh realities.

Sakura had never been ashamed of her father or where he came from, and neither had her mother, but that didn’t mean everyone was so understanding.

“I didn’t know that.” She lied. “Thank you again for doing this.”

The man looked at her curiously. “It was a pleasure. You are welcome in our home anytime.”

The pinkette’s heart warmed.

…

Much later, Sakura was sitting alone in her bed, the sun having set long ago.

_You’re being ridiculous._ The sane part of her argued. _It’s a_ kekkei genkai. _The whole point of them is that they can’t be done by people outside of the family._

And yet…

She stared and the old pot she had dragged into her room, and the oak seed that was resting in her palm.

It wouldn’t hurt to try, would it? Only she would know if she failed.

Slowly, she dug into the dirt and placed the seed down.

She reached inside for her chakra, the pool pitifully small, and pushed it into where the oak was.

_Grow._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, hope you're having a good day.
> 
> Cliff hanger! Will Sakura be able to make the seed grow? Find out, whenever i get around to writing the next chapter.
> 
> Also, when you have to make a character name and personality up because they don't exist in canon. I'm pretty sure like, 80% of the mothers in naruto just don't exist. Because why would you want more female character? That's ridiculous.
> 
> If you couldn't tell, that was sarcasm.
> 
> Me realizing this one small detail that i want to change will have extreme repercussions throughout the universe bc Kishimoto made everything ridiculously connected and dumb: Fuck, guess I'll just change a shit ton of things then.
> 
> This is gonna be wild guys.
> 
> There are so many things i'm going to change, and so many characters who got done dirty that i am going to avenge. It's gonna be great, and also take forever to change because goddamn did things get convoluted.
> 
> Do you guys have any questions about my opinion on things in the Naruto universe? Because i have lots of opinions, so feel free to ask me.
> 
> Also, are there any pairings not involving Sakura that you guys are interested in seeing? I have a few in mind, but I'm not die hard on any of them, so feel free to leave suggestions. As long as they are not more than 5 years apart in age. Also if you want to leave your opinion on pairings involving Sakura that's chill too. However i will remind you that i will not be doing any with character more than five years older or younger than her, and i will not be putting her with Sasuke or Naruto.
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome, hate will be laughed at and the gay will be strong.
> 
> Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye


	5. Here Lies The Starting Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next few months up until the graduation exam

Nothing happened.

Sakura tried to contain her disappointment. _It wasn’t like you were expecting anything to happen anyway._ The logical part of her reasoned.

But something nagged in her mind, something that refused to let go. _Why can’t I do it?_ It whispered. _Why is it considered a kekkei genkai? Why? Why? Why?_

Sakura had always been curious and had asked a lot of questions the way many kids did. And unlike other kids, she’d learned quickly what she wasn’t allowed to ask and what made people uncomfortable.

Don’t ask about clan techniques or secrets and don’t point out their weaknesses. Don’t ask why there weren’t extra classes for civilian borns and don’t say anything about discrimination or unfairness. Don’t ask for deeper explanations about the subtle propaganda they fed to everyone. _Why_ questions were particularly disliked, so she learned to keep her mouth shut and _watch_ instead of ask. People often showed their true intentions rather than saying them, and Sakura had managed to avoid getting into trouble more than once by observing.

There was no way she’d be able to ask about this, so she would just have to watch.

Konoha wasn’t built in a day, so it would make sense for her to not be able to use the Mokuton yet. The only way she would know is if she kept trying.

_She who ventures and achieves nothing had gained more than those who didn’t dare._

…

Kakashi glared at the folder in his hand, trying to mentally will it to burst aflame.

If anyone other than the Hokage himself had not ordered this, he might have.

Not that he’d ever say it to his face, but the old man must have gone senile if he thought giving Kakashi a genin team was a good idea. One with the son of his sensei no less.

He was tempted to just ignore the folders and wing it, teaching kids couldn’t be that hard, could it? He knew he had learned quickly as a child so wouldn’t he be able to show them a technique and then leave them to it?

The higher ups probably wouldn’t let him get away with that.

Kakashi let out a sigh, deciding to bite the bullet and finally opening the folder.

Name: Sasuke Uchiha

Age: 12

Height: 148-151cm

Weight: 40-44kg

Rank: Academy student

Affiliation: Konoha

Clan: Uchiha

Immediate family: Fugaku Uchiha, Mikoto Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha

Blood type: AB

Combat classification: Ninjutsu

Combat ranking: 1st

Theoretical ranking: 2nd

Personality: Ambitious. Confident bordering on arrogant. Antisocial.

Additional notes: Has shown to be hostile towards peers. Does not respect those he deems weaker than him.

Kakashi wrinkled his nose. Placing him with an Uchiha was bad enough-some of them still hated the fact that he had Obito’s eye no matter how many times it was explained to them that it was a gift-but they put him with one a near identical personality chart as his own had been when he’d graduated.

These weren’t the entire folders the village had on these kids-the full ones were filled with every minute detail and mannerism-but it was frowned upon for Jounin sensei’s to look at the full ones less they develop too many preconceived notions of their students and didn’t bother to get to know them. Stupid in Kakashi’s opinion, but he really didn’t want to read more than he had to.

He put Sasuke’s file down and picked up the one with the name Naruto imprinted on it, ignoring the pang in his heart.

Name: Naruto Uzumaki

Age: 12

Height: 143-146cm

Weight: 39-42kg

Rank: Academy student

Affiliation: Konoha

Clan: Uzumaki

Immediate family: None

Blood type: B

Combat classification: Taijutsu

Combat ranking: 9th

Theoretical ranking: 32nd

Personality: Exuberant. Eager to please and prove himself. Ambitious.

Additional notes: Dislikes and is unreceptive to any form of book learning. May cause trouble if he feels he is being ignored.

It was easier to read the file than see him. The file was detached. Analytical. It made it easier to pretend the gaping whole in his chest didn’t exist, pretend that the guilt wasn’t still eating him alive.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he opened the last folder.

_At least it can’t get any worse._

Name: Sakura Haruno

Age: 12

Height: 147-150cm

Weight: 34-37kg

Rank: Academy student

Affiliation: Konoha

Clan: None

Immediate family: Mebuki Haruno, Kizashi Haruno

Blood type: O

Combat classification: Genjutsu

Combat ranking: 11th

Theoretical ranking: 1st

Personality: Reserved and polite. Curious. Eager to learn.

Additional notes: Has a tendency to question orders. Potentially because of civilian background.

So not only did they place him with Naruto and an Uchiha-Itachi’s brother no less-but they also put him with a civilian born? It was like the Hokage was _trying_ to kill him?

_Friend killer Kakshi finally meets his end, killed by his genin team._

The masked man mentally shook himself. Nothing he could do about this now.

…

Sakura stared in shock, not quite believing what she was seeing.

It was two weeks after she had first decided to experiment with the Mokuton, each attempt leading to the same result.

Nothing.

That was, until today, when she managed something completely unexpected.

She’d been upset because she had lost every one of her sparring matches. It had felt that despite all her work she would never manage to catch up and that all her effort was useless.

To make matters worse, she couldn’t train with Shino because he had a clan meeting, and the school grounds were being used by the year below them for the entire week for survival training.

So by the time she’d returned home to an empty house, Sakura had practically been boiling with rage. She had tried to make it a habit to attempt the Mokuton three times a day. Once before she sent to school, once when she returned from it, and once before she went to bed. That way she was trying multiple times a day, but not too many in a row so she was less likely to get frustrated.

Not wanting to break the habit despite her anger, Sakura had sat down next to the pot and pushed chakra into the seed a little more aggressively than she usually did, paying less attention to how much she’d put in it as well.

The seed exploded.

The shock had cut through her rage, leaving her gaping and frozen. This wasn’t what she’d been trying to do, not by a long shot, but it was _something._ Proof that her attempts weren’t completely in vain, proof that it _was_ possible.

Maybe.

She repeated the process four more times to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, and felt lightheaded with giddiness.

_Progress._

Now if she could only find a way to do something other than make it explode.

…

Ino was furious, and she wasn’t sure why.

That was actually a lie. She knew exactly why she was mad, but she’d rather swear off boys than admit it.

“You know I think you stare at her as much as Sasuke these days.”

Ino whipped her head around to glare at Shikamaru. “I do not!” she said indignantly. “Besides, if I were, it would only be to gawk at her huge forehead.”

The words came easily, rehearsed and with less bite than they had before. It had been easy when Sakura had been her love rival, but ever since her sparing match with Sasuke the pinkette had been staying far from him.

So now the end of their friendship meant nothing? Their rivalry that had been the whole reason for them splitting up was tossed aside so casually it made Ino’s blood boil, because it made her feel like Sakura had tossed aside _her_ as well. Had she ever meant anything to the other girl? Her former rival now spent all her time with Hinata and _Shino_ of all people-she despised bugs no matter the context-so what was she supposed to think?

Shikamaru glanced at her with one eyebrow raised, clearly not buying anything she’d said.

It was infuriating how easily he could read her, but it worked out well most times. She didn’t need to say much for him to understand what she meant and she never needed to worry about him getting offended over things she didn’t mean. Not that the lazy moron ever really got offended over anything.

“I thought you’d be happy,” Choji chimed in, stuffing a handful of chips in his mouth. “You were always complaining about her going after Sasuke before.”

And she _should_ be happy, so why wasn’t she?

“You know if you went up and talked to her I don’t think she would ignore you.” Shikamaru said, leaning back in his chair. “You were friends for a long time, I’m sure you could be again.”

Ino scoffed. “Why would I ever want to be friends with someone with that big of a forehead.” Her words carried over the class reaching the pinkette.

Sakura glanced up, green eyes flashing with hurt before hardening. The other girl than very purposely turned her back on Ino and towards Shino, not once glancing back.

_Have you completely forgotten about me?_

…

“I’m hoooooooooooooooome!”

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin at the booming voice, the water affinity scroll that she’d managed to weasel out of Iruka falling to the ground.

Her mother looked up from her place at the dinner table, thread still between her teeth yet managing to pull off a distinctly unimpressed look.

Before she knew it, Sakura was scooped into a bear hug as her father plucked her right off the couch, her feet dangling in the air.

“Dad!” She squirmed in his hold so she could properly get her arms around him. “You’re back!”

He ruffled her hair. “That I am! I see you’re still devouring books, what are you reading this time-” He froze.

Sakura followed his gaze to the scroll she had been reading, nerves she hadn’t realized existed bubbling up.

“I uh, I found out my chakra affinities while you were gone.” She said awkwardly, avoiding his gaze. “I got water and earth.”

Her father may not be a shinobi, but he wasn’t stupid, and he understood the significance well enough. She wasn’t ashamed of it or him, she _wasn’t,_ but she understood what it could mean for her future and the way others treated her.

His gaze softened. “Just like your old man, huh?” He rested his hand on her shoulder squeezing reassuringly.

Sakura smiled up at him, attempting to swallow the lump in her throat. “Yeah.” She said, her voice cracking. “Yeah I am.”

Her mother gently cleared her throat. “I’m not in the mood to cook, and doubt you are either after your trip. How about we eat out tonight as a treat?”

Her father grinned. “Sounds perfect! How about that place near your work? They have amazing dumplings.”

“You and your dumplings.” Her mother rolled her eyes, setting down her needle. “But I suppose since you just got back you get to pick.”

With a grin, her father sidled next to her mother kissing her on the cheek. “You’re the best.”

She put on a mock stern look. “And don’t you forget it.”

The three of them fell into a fit of laughter.

Sakura waited until her mother went to their bedroom to change before turning to her father once more. “Could you-would you tell me about Kiri?” She questioned. “There isn’t much that doesn’t seem really biased in the library and-” she took a deep breath. “-and I really want to know.”

Her father didn’t often talk of his homeland, the few times he did were either littered with old fear and bitterness, or wistful fondness. It wasn’t like he completely ignored where he was from, but despite the culture aspects he had taught her, Sakura still didn’t know as much as she’d like to. It might even help with her elemental jutsu, seeing as water nature would be much more common in Kiri.

He surveyed her, uncharacteristically silent.

A small, sad smile broke out across his expression. “Of course.” He said tenderly. “What would you like to know?”

…

Iruka brought his hand down, signaling for the two students in front of him to begin the match. “Start!”

Ami immediately lunged for Sakura, arm outstretched as she aimed for the pinkette’s face.

The girl in question sidestepped the attack, causing Ami to stumble enough so that Sakura could launch an attack of her own.

The elbow that connected was well placed and effective.

Sakura retreated slightly, causing the two girls to begin circling on another, Ami’s expression furious yet undeniably wary.

The next time they clashed, the purple haired girl managed to shove the pinkette to the ground, fighting to keep her mediocrely executed pin in place.

“Why don’t you just give up?” Ami sneered. “Not like someone with that big of a forehead will ever amount to anything.”

Normally Iruka would scold her, but verbal warfare was a part of shinobi battles, and real enemies would be much crueler than this playground teasing.

Sakura rammed her forehead into the other girl’s nose, a loud _crack_ ringing throughout the training field. From there she flipped their positions and placed an arm on Ami’s throat.

“My forehead is actually quite useful.” She said triumphantly.

“Match over! Sakura is the winner.” To his knowledge this was the first time the pinkette had ever beaten Ami in a spar of any kind.

“You broke my nose!” The purple haired girl cried out, scrambling to her feet.

Sakura stood taller, a proud smile dancing across her lips. “Yes, yes I did.”

If he didn’t have to set a good example, Iruka would have laughed.

…

The day Sakura had been both dreading and wishing for had finally arrived.

Exam day.

Today was the day that she would either graduate the Academy or be forced to stay behind a year. The latter was _not_ and option.

She made her way over to the pot on her windowsill, plucking a new seed from the box she kept them in. Sakura had been forced to start collecting them now that she was consistently exploding them.

She was just glad it didn’t make much noise, her mother would have her head if she had to hear a loud bang on top of her father’s antics.

Despite her training, Sakura still didn’t have much chakra to spare, and seeing as this was exam day, she did _not_ want to be running low.

So instead of pushing the usual amount, she gently let her chakra flow into the seed, tightly controlling how much she was using as to not let any go to waste.

Time seemed to slow as an oak sprout just barely pushed itself out of the dirt.

It was tiny really, could barely even be considered a sprout, but it was _there._ _She_ did that. _Her!_ A civilian born nobody had just replicated the _Mokuton_. The supposed kekkei genkai that the _First Hokage_ had had!

Oh god, she was going to faint.

“Sakura! If you don’t get going you’re going to be late!”

_Crap! The exam!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, hope you're having a good day.
> 
> Whooo! We're finally moving past the Academy, now i can get this shit rolling. i am going to be changing A LOT, so if you're looking for a fic that doesn't change much except a few characters, you're in the wrong place.
> 
> Also yes! Sakura can use the Mokuton. Rest assured that this will not be a fast badass fic, Sakura will lose and will lose often. It's goign to be a long grind so buckle up folks, we're gonna go for a ride.
> 
> Kishimoto: Explicity states that Sakura is a genjutsu type
> 
> Also Kishimoto: does absolutely nothing with it
> 
> In other news, yes Sakura is going to be with the original team 7, but obviously, things aren't going to be the same. I'm also going to be utilizing the other villages as well as side characters a lot more, because i think the other villages are fascinating that the fact that they were never explored is a crime against literature.
> 
> That seems to be a theme with Kishimoto; he introduces really fascinating and complex ideas and then proceeds to either do nothing with them, or execute them so poorly you wish they'd never existed in the first place.
> 
> I do think that Ino would be really conflicted once Sakura got over Sasuke, because that was the main reason for the splitting. Again, Ino isn't a bad person, but she's 12 and hormones are annoying and she doesn't really know better. For her character i'm going to emphasize the fact that her father is the head of the Intelligence division, and she would be a really good interrogator and spy. The Yamanaka's trademark is literally getting into people's heads, so i can for sure see her on intel gathering missions or working at T&I. She is sadly one of the many casualties of poorly written female characters in shounen. They make her seems like a dumb blonde half the time, and that it's bad that she's interested in her looks. Legit she should be working in the intelligence division during and after the time skip and paying attention to your looks tells you exactly nothing about how smart a person is. Get your misogyny the fuck out of here.
> 
> Also while we're on the topic, when Asuma died, Choji and Ino should have had more of a role in the revenge against Hidan and Kakuzu. I 100% support the arc that focused on Shikamaru, but Asuma was Ino and Choji's sensei too, so they really have been put more in the spotlight. Like, why couldn't more of the Konoha 12 been focused on? It's not like they didn't have potential, so why did Kishimoto constantly squander it?
> 
> In later chapters when Sakura interacts with them, i will be talking about Tenten, Neji, and Rock Lee, and next chapter i'll begin my rant on Kakashi. I have many grievances, and if i don't let them all out i will become a being of pure rage.
> 
> Ask me my opinions on things or just random questions, comments are my lifeblood so go wild.
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome, hate will be laughed at and the gay will be strong.
> 
> Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye


	6. Unexpected Teammates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura finds out who's on her team.

The classroom was buzzing with excitement.

Twenty four of the thirty-two students in their class passed, the other eight forced to retake the year. Those who remained now sat at their desks, eagerly awaiting Iruka to make the announcement.

Sakura was practically vibrating in her seat. She’d done it! All her hard work had payed off! This was her first major step! She was a genin!

“Whose t-team d-do you think y-you’ll b-be on, S-Sakura?” Hinata questioned, her headband placed snuggly on the base of her throat.

That was something the pinkette had pondered over for weeks. Considering her background and the fact that other than her top tier scores on Theoretical, she didn’t have any specialty, she would most likely be placed on a team with two other clanless kids and a competent but not famous jounin-sensei.

It made sense after all, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji were destined to be on the same team, and she had a hunch that Hinata, Shino and Kiba would be together as well. In all likelihood she would be on a team with none of her friends. Worst case scenario she got placed with her former bullies.

It wouldn’t be ideal, but they had been warier of her ever since she’d broken Ami’s nose, and she was confident in her ability to push aside her grievances and work with them if she had to.

“QUIET!” Iruka boomed, the noise in the room immediately evaporating. “I will be announcing your teams now. After that, your sensei’s will come to pick you up. You will be on your best behavior.” It was not a request.

Anticipation filled the air, everyone holding their breath.

“Team 6 will be Kageyama, Nami, and Tooru.”

The three named glanced at one another, not friends, but friendly with one another.

“Team 8 will be Kiba, Shino, and Hinata.”

The latter two named shared a nod of acknowledgement.

It was always nice to be right about things like this. It seemed that her ability to predict the teams was pretty good so far.

“Team 9 will be Saeko, Haido, and Nawaki.”

Iruka continued to list out names, glaring whenever excited whispering would break out. There were only nine left who hadn’t been called out, including her. Any more waiting and she might just implode.

“Team 7 will be Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.”

_What._

Shock paralyzed her limbs and her mouth hung open. In all of the possible combinations of teams that she had though of, this one had never crossed her mind.

This-this was a nightmare scenario. There was no possible way she had heard Iruka correctly.

But Shino and Hinata’s looks of concern, Naruto’s shout of elation and Sasuke’s scoff told her that this wasn’t a prank or a wild dream she was having. It was real. All her carefully crafted plans and expectations were now thrown out the window, all her preparations now worth practically nothing.

Her teammates were Naruto and Sasuke.

_Fuck._

…

Sakura managed to wind her panic down to controllable levels in the ensuing minutes, pushing down her inevitable breakdown away just enough to wish her friends luck when they left with their sensei.

One by one, all the other student streamed out of their class until it was just the three of them left. Even Iruka said he needed to get going for his shift at the mission desk.

Half an hour passed. Then an hour. Then two.

Naruto had taken up trying to get a rise out of Sasuke, the other boy responding only with sneers and scoffs. Sakura did her best to go unnoticed by them, taking up residence in a corner to read a scroll she had brought.

Hour three passed and there was still no sensei.

Hadn’t Naruto failed his exam? She had seen him sitting on the swing outside the Academy yesterday and had witnessed his abysmal attempts at creating a clone. The boy had always been bad at chakra control.

So why was he here?

Hour four passed and Sakura was beginning to get irritated. Had their jounin-sensei forgotten about them? Was this a convoluted test of their patience? As another hour dragged on the answer did not become any clearer.

At least the waiting gave her time to come to terms with her new reality. A year ago, she would have been over the moon to be on the same team as Sasuke, but now she felt only discomfort. She still had not forgotten his cruel words.

“ _The most useful she’ll ever be, is as cannon fodder.”_

She hadn’t forgiven him either. He had not once apologized or showed that he was remorseful in any way, so he didn’t deserve it. Sasuke had been unkind, and had clearly shown that he did not respect her. He thought he was better than her, and would’ve been her last choice to have on a team.

Yet here she was.

It wasn’t like Sakura was fond of Naruto either. She found him obnoxious, and his persistence attempts at asking her out despite her numerous refusals frustrated her. Not to mention he was always skipping class and making a fool of himself. He had even put up a small prank for their jounin-sensei, completely ignoring the fact that there was no way any shinobi worth their salt wouldn’t be able to sense it coming.

Halfway through hour six, they heard footsteps.

The three of them perked up, some more noticeably than the others, and the door opened.

The chalkboard eraser Naruto had placed above the door fell, hitting the grey-haired man squarely on the top of his head before tumbling onto the ground.

_Seriously?_

The masked man clapped his hands together, his one uncovered eye crinkling in what she assumed was an indication of a smile. “My first impression is…I hate you.”

Sakura balked at the harsh words, shock and confusion spreading as she stared blankly at the stranger.

“Meet me on the roof in one minute.”

And then he was gone.

…

Sakura made it two the roof with four seconds to spare, allowing the competitive and pushing boys ahead of her a fairly wide girth.

The man was there waiting for them, perched on the edge of the roof in a lazy crouch. “That was pretty slow.” He commented. “We’ll have to work on that.”

She pushed down a flash or irritation and smoothed over her features. It was no use letting her anger take over here. She wanted to make a good impression and refused to let her temper win.

“Introduce yourselves.” The jounin said with little ceremony.

Naruto frowned. “What are we supposed to say!? Why don’t you go first, sensei?”

As much as Sakura agreed with him, did he have to be so loud?

The man did his little eye smile again and released a contemplative hum. “Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I like some things, and dislike others. My dream is my own business and I have a few hobbies.”

_So we learned nothing but his name. Fantastic._

Naruto was not as willing to remain silent. “You barely told us anything!” he burst out.

Kakashi shrugged. “Why don’t you go next then, show us how you think it should have been done.”

The blond straightened. “I’m Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen and don’t like the three minutes it takes for ramen to cook. My hobby is pulling pranks and my dream is to become Hokage, believe it!”

Sasuke made a disbelieving noise. “That’ll never happen, Dead Last.”

Naruto scowled. “It will! And since you’re so judgy, why don’t you go?”

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. “My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I dislike a lot more things than I like, including loud idiots.” He continued over Naruto’s offended squawk. “My hobby is training and I will one day surpass my older brother.”

The three of them then turned to her.

Sakura willed her racing heart to slow. “My name is Sakura Haruno.” She began steadily. “I like hanging out with my friends, and dislike having to wash my hair after a training session. My hobby is gardening-” _Expirimenting with a thought to be dead not really kekkai genaki counted as gardening, right?_ “-and my dream is…”

She trailed off.

What _was_ her dream? What did she want? She was a kunoichi now, but what was her next step? What happened now?

…

Kakashi watched as his only female student fell silent, a conflicted expression donning her face.

The girl squared her shoulders. “My goal is to become a jounin.” She said firmly.

The baby Uchiha scoffed. To him, becoming a jounin was the minimum expectation. Of _course_ he would get that high in the ranks, so why would be bother making a big deal about it?

Anger flashed across the pinkette’s expression, her nails digging into her arm deep enough that he could smell the beginnings of blood.

It was clear that none of them were satisfied with this team, and the chances of them working together were slim. They would likely fail his test tomorrow and he couldn’t say he was sorry, despite the hell he knew Fugaku and the Elders were going to raise.

“Aren’t you an ambitious lot. Well, before any of that happens, you’ll have to meet me at training ground 3 tomorrow at dawn.”

Naruto frowned. “For what?”

He grinned sadistically. _“Survival training.”_

…

Sakura had three ways to destress herself.

First, was reading. She was practically a knowledge sponge, and there was no better way than to take her mind of something that was frustrating her. She could get lost in reading and ignore the unpleasantness of reality for as long as she stared at those pages.

The second was working in her mother’s shop. Her mother being tailor meant she’d been able to sew before she could walk, and there were days that the mindless menial labour was just what she needed. It was simple yet required enough concentration that she didn’t have the brain space to worry about anything outside of what she was doing.

The last was something she rarely did anymore, the activity something she wasn’t able to do in the comfort indoors provided. Swimming in a river while the sun was about to start setting may seem like an idiotic move, but Sakura had been going through this route since before she’d entered the Academy, and would be able to find her way home with her eyes closed.

Sinking into the water was as calming as it always was. The cool evening air causing chills to run through her. Sakura welcomed the cold and ducked under the rushing waves.

When she had been younger and her father hadn’t been away as much, on her bad days he would take her to this place in the river and teach her how to swim. They would stay here for hours, doing nothing put playing in the water and enjoying each others company.

When her father’s company had begun growing, he’d end up leaving more for his merchant trips. But every time he was home they would go at least once to this very spot. The river here was slow, not nearly fast enough to sweep away even the smallest of children and an optimal place to soak, it’s shores hidden amongst thick bushes.

Sakura was hot tempered, and she knew it. Small things could send her on a rampage or into panic mode and those emotions could change on a dime. Being in the water felt like she was calming down, like the coolness of the river was seeping all of her irrationality and mood swings away. It helped her think, and right now, that was just what she needed to do.

_Fact one: I am on the same team as Naruto and Sasuke._

An unfortunate reality she was going to have to accept. She hadn’t gotten this far by giving up when something was unpleasant. None of them were going to be able to work cohesively as a team and any attempts to do so on their own would likely result in disaster, and considering they were mostly likely meant to be a combat squad, their chances of getting injured were much higher. Naruto hated book learning, Sasuke looked down on both of them, and Sakura wasn’t fond of either of them. This was going to be a mess.

_Fact two: Our jounin sensei is…weird._

Kakashi was probably famous or something similar. It wasn’t like the Uchiha would be happy with just any random shinobi, and considering Naruto was an Uzumaki, one of the last alive after Uzushio had been destroyed, there would likely be push for him to have a good sensei as well. Even if the boy didn’t have parents-where did he live anyway?-she had also seen him hang around the Hokage more than once, so even if Kakashi was strange, he was likely very, very good.

_Fact three: I was not put on this team to succeed._

This was perhaps the hardest pill to swallow, but one she must regardless. Sakura was not fit to be on a combat squad, not really. She wasn’t strong enough to be a front liner, her theoretical knowledge and general competence more useful in information gathering. Naruto had seemingly endless stamina and enormous chakra reserves, and even if he struggled with the basics could be devastating in a fight if he learned a powerful jutsu. Sasuke was much the same, his speed and skill making him the best fighter in the class, and he already knew several fire jutsu.

Sakura had none of that. She had above average chakra control and was a sponge for knowledge. She never shined in Practical, only truly standing out in things that had to do with precise details. Putting her on a front-line combat squad made no sense, which meant she had been placed there for one reason.

She was meant to be cannon fodder for the boys.

She was conveniently high enough in the rankings that if you didn’t look to hard you wouldn’t see it, but it was clear as day to Sakura. Her civilian background deemed her less important to those in charge, and thus her future was only defined by what she could do for others.

It made her blood boil.

_Fact four: I am not going to take this lying down._

Sakura was not a quitter. She would drag the attention and respect of those in power with her bare hands and she would do it gladly. Her future was her choice, not that of old men.

Hoisting herself onto the bank of the river, Sakura placed her palms onto the mud and concentrated.

**_Grow._ **

The right amount of chakra, for the right amount of time, in the right place. It was hard to find and even harder to consistently get right.

The cattails on the shore which had previously come up to her shins lengthened until they would brush her hips.

Sakura would win in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, hope you're having a good day.
> 
> I will expand upon Sakura's goal in the next chapter, because i don't have room in this one.
> 
> As promised, this chapter i will be ranting about Kakashi now that he has been introduced.
> 
> Ho boy, where do i even begin.
> 
> Kakashi's entire life has been one big clusterfuck. His dad committed suicide when he was like 5, after then entire village blamed him for starting a war. This left Kakashi with the message that the mission should be completed no matter the cost. It wasn't until Obito literally saved his life that his mentality began to change. Then, after that loss, Rin uses him to kill herself, making him break his promise to Obito that he would protect her. Than, the last person he really trusts and his father figure, dies while he was able to do nothing. He spends the next several years in ANBU before going to teach Team 7. This man has trauma on top of trauma and a guilt complex bigger than Canada. He is an extremely skilled child soldier who was sent to war very early and lost the only people close to him at a young age. Danzo being a creepy fuck didn't help either.
> 
> With all these things considered...
> 
> WHO THE FUCK THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO LET THIS MAN TEACH L I T E R A L CHILDREN. ABNU recruits are one thing-they're already very skilled and know the basics. Kids fresh out of the Academy are greener than grass, and the Third Hokage decided to not only have him teach 12 year olds, but to teach twelve year olds that are an enormous source of guilt for him via Naruto being Minato's son and Sasuke being Itachi's brother. Emotionally compromised doesn't even begin to describe how this is a terrible idea.
> 
> That being said, Kakashi was an adult at the time-26-when he started training them. He could have gone to therapy and stepped up to the plate and become a real teacher to help his students.
> 
> He doesn't.
> 
> One of the only things he ever teaches all three of them, is tree walking, and even then he just gave vague instructions and left them to their own devices. Wow. Such great supervision. Even when Sakura gets it first try, he doesn't then proceed to have her learn water walking as it is clear she is ahead in terms of chakra control, but merely let's the boy's catch up and has her do...nothing. In fact, he uses Sakura's success to goad the boys into trying harder, fueling antagonism and resentment. For a man that says teamwork is key, he does not promote it with his actions. He protects them sure, but he's an adult and their superior officer in charge of them. That's literally what he's been ordered to do.
> 
> He barely teaches them anything before Shippuden, and only teaches Sasuke lightning blade while ignoring Sakura and Naruto. Then in Shippuden he teaches Naruto, but again, completely ignores Sakura. He drives Sasuke closer to his goal for revenge with his stupid talk, and should have never been put in charge of these children.
> 
> It honestly isn't that surprising that their team fell apart. The adult in the room wasn't acting like one and you had an orphan who almost never had a stable adult in his life, a brainy fan girl who didn't let her emotions out, and a revenge driven emo kid who thought other people made him weak.
> 
> Speaking of which, why were Naruto and Sasuke left alone? For Naruto they said it was to protect his identity, but like, everyone knows he's the jinchuuriki except the kids. Why not place him with a shinobi family who didn't treat him like shit? Iruka probably would have taken him in, and then there would be less of a chance that a foreign or enemy shinobi would be able to gain his loyalty as a child by being nice to him because everyone hated him and attention and affection starved kids are desperate. Literally that's just common sense, even ignoring the moral bits. On Sasuke's end, they left him in the house and compound where every family member and persona he'd been close with, died. As a 7 year old. What the fuck? Why did no one give this child therapy? Why did no one take him in?
> 
> Who knows. Probably more plot holes Kishimoto forgot about. 
> 
> Also, Kakashi is supposed to be Master of A Thousand Jutsu, but he only ever uses like, three. Just saying.
> 
> Ask me random questions, they're fun. Comments are my lifeblood as i struggle through school.
> 
> And i had a really good Animatic idea for Naruto. An Animatic with the music being Into The Unknown and the characters it focused on were the Jinchuuriki of all the nations. If any talented artists wants to use that idea, go for it. I can't draw for shit.
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome, hate will be laughed at and the gay will be strong.
> 
> Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye


	7. Failed Teamwork Does Not Make The Dream Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bell test happens

The first thing Sakura did after waking up, was disobey Kakashi’s warning to not eat breakfast. If she had learned anything from yesterday, it was that the man liked throwing them off, and she didn’t trust that he hadn’t said that to trick them.

She kept it light just in case he’d actually been telling the truth, but also stuffed a few protein bars into her pockets. It never hurt to be prepared and something told that today was going to be as bad as yesterday, if not worse.

“Leaving already?” Her mother questioned, her hands curled around a mug of hot tea.

Sakura slipped on her left shoe. “Unfortunately.”

She released a light chuckle. “Don’t let those boys push you around, you hear me? Tell them your mother stabs things thousands of times for a living.”

Strange way to describe a tailor, but the thought of her mother chewing out Naruto and Sasuke was enough to make her snort.

“Don’t worry.” Sakura said with much more confidence than she felt. “I’ll be fine.”

…

Things were not fine.

While Sakura immediately felt vindicated for her decision to eat breakfast and bring along extra food, their sensei being late for the second time by _hours_ annoyed her to no end. He was supposed to be a good example! How were they supposed to learn anything if he was never there!

When the man eventually did show up, he completely ignored their questions about by he was late and instead settled for bringing them into the middle of the field.

“Despite what they told you at the Academy, you are not genin yet.” He held up a hand to silence their protests. “Jounin-senseis are within their right to preform a test that should their prospective team fail, they will be sent back to the Academy to redo the last year.”

Fear gripped Sakura’s heart. _I can’t go back. I **won’t**. I’ve come too far to let this stop me._

Kakashi held out two bells. “You need to capture one of these bells to pass. You have until this clock hits noon to complete your mission. Feel free to use any tools you have at your disposal.”

She hesitantly raised her hand, unsure whether she should point out of obvious or not. “Uh, sensei? There’s only two bells.”

He did the weird eye smile thing. “Only two of you can pass. 66% of genin pass their jounin-sensei’s test. The other 33% go back to the Academy or quit.”

That-that _couldn’t_ be right. Genin teams were comprised of three genin and one jounin. If one got sent back they’d be one short.

Kakashi pressed the top of the clock. “Your time starts now.”

…

Sakura’s heart pounded loudly in her chest, fear threatening to swallow her whole as she crouched in the bushes.

This test was-was _ridiculous_! There was absolutely no way three freshly minted genin could so much as _scratch_ a jounin, never mind take an item that they were guarding _on their person_.

_Think, Sakura._ She ordered herself, for once thankful of Naruto and his ability to be extremely obnoxious and distracting. For the moment it looked like Kakashi was occupied with the blond boy, so she had time to plan. Her mind was her greatest weapon, and right now she needed it more than ever.

There had to be some kind of catch. There was no way Kakashi would be allowed to set them up for a test that was impossible to complete, so there was something they were missing.

The time limit was set up to make them act rashly and the lack of food was supposed to make them sloppy and weak. Both were designed to enhance the pressure on them, but for what end? Just to make the already impossible task even harder?

_The bells._ A part of Sakura hissed, causing her to nearly gasp aloud. _Of_ course! There was no way one genin out of every team failed, because that way they would make it so there were four kids instead of three to keep the teams with the required numbers. That meant he _wasn’t_ going to fail the genin who didn’t get the bell, because this really wasn’t about the bells at all! Just like the hunger and time limit it was meant to make the true objective harder to obtain! But what…?

She snapped her fingers. Teamwork. That _had_ to be it. Everything fit. Konoha was known for their teamwork, not to mention the bells were supposed to make the idea almost unthinkable because it was them or you, making it so that they were compelled to work against each other instead of with! Add that with the pressure of the time limit and the lack of clear thinking due to hunger, and it was a cocktail of competition. They wouldn’t even _consider_ working together.

Triumph caused her to grin, allowing herself to quietly creep out of the bushes and deeper into the forest. Now that she knew the true objective she could just-

Sakura froze.

She would have to convince _Naruto_ and _Sasuke_ to work together. With her, and each other.

This was going to be a disaster.

…

She found Sasuke first.

He was neck deep in the ground and it took every ounce of self control she had not to laugh at him.

It took some work, but she managed to dig the top layer of earth away from him and help break him out. He scoffed at her outstretched hand and batted it away.

“I would have been fine on my own.”

That was…a blatant lie, and quite hostile considering she’d just helped him, but she let it slide.

“I figured out the real objective.” She said instead. “It’s not the bells. I think we have to work together and-”

“I’m not working with you _or_ Dead Last.” He sneered. “You’ll just slow me down.”

“He’s a _jounin_.” She argued. “There’s no way any of us could take him on our own. We’re barely genin.”

“I’m not pathetic like you. If you think it’s impossible why are you even trying?” Sasuke looked at her with contempt.

Sakura bit her tongue. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you.” She snapped. “The bells aren’t the real goal, they’re a distraction. Think about it. There’s no way that every team would get one kid sent-”

“Shut up.”

The pinkette paused in disbelief. Was he _seriously_ not even going to consider-

“You’re annoying.”

Rage curled in her breast, and Sakura did nothing but watch as he vanished into the trees.

…

She attempted to look for Naruto next, but was unable to find the usually eye-catching boy. Perhaps he finally figured that his head on approach was idiotic and had resorted to stealth while he recovered.

Sakura knew he could be sneaky when he wanted to be-that was the only reason he wasn’t immediately caught when he pulled his pranks after all. Still, she needed to convince at least _one_ of them to work with her, and hopefully the blond would be more agreeable.

She burst into a clearing, doing her best to move as quickly and quietly as possible, ignoring the bushes and branches the stuck on her clothes as the continued moving through the-

A scream spilled out of Sakura’s lips before she could stop it.

Hinata, Shino, and her parents were laying motionless on the ground, blood pooling around them as the sun highlighted their grey skin.

Nausea rolled through her as her stomach rebelled, threatening vomit. Tears collected at the corners of her eyes as she stumbled backwards and-

Brought her shaking hands firmly together. “Release!”

She violently disrupted her chakra flow, cutting off the foreign energy and watching as the horrid genjutsu disappeared before her very eyes.

_Not real. NOT REAL._ She told herself, whipping tears from her eyes and she forced herself to take deep breaths. It was just an illusion. A cruel, disgusting illusion but one all the same.

“Well how about that.”

Sakura shrieked and careened forwards, scrambling to get away from the voice that had appeared in her ear.

Kakashi’s eye crinkled. “Lesson three; genjutsu.”

And then she was alone once more.

The pinkette craned her neck up, attempting to estimate the time they had left and-

_Forty-five minutes. Shit._

…

Sakura had completely forgone stealth and was just sprinting. Her legs and lungs _burned_ , but she kept going. There wasn’t nearly enough time to find the boys, much less convince them to work together, so she had one last gambit.

The clock sat innocently on the log, its hands ticking along as if every second that passed wasn’t bringing them one step closer to failure.

Seventeen minutes left.

She fished out a kunai and stuck the tip under the back of it, prying it open to reveal moving gears. After a bit of frantic experimentation, she forcibly removed the parts that caused the hour and minute hands to tick, stopping the clock from reaching noon and failing them.

She did her best to bend the metal so that it couldn’t be fixed and threw the screws in different directions. There was a chance that this would all be for nought, but Sakura had to try.

Two minutes after the clock would have hit noon, Kakashi came out of the forest with Naruto and Sasuke dragging along. He looked as happy as could be, despite the scowls and glares he was getting from his passengers.

“Looks like you guys failed!” He said cheerfully. “Not a single one of you got a bell.”

Sakura steeled herself. “No we didn’t.”

The man turned his attention towards her. “Oh?”

She pointed to the clock, attempting to hide her nerves but probably failing miserably. “You said that we would fail when the clock hit noon. But it hasn’t, so we don’t fail.”

Both boys stared at her with a mixture of confusion and surprise.

Sakura continued. “In fact, I don’t think it will ever hit noon, so we have the rest of our lives to get those bells off you.”

Kakashi narrowed his eye. “Is that what you think?”

She forced herself not to falter under his scrutiny. “You never said we couldn’t tamper with the clock, so I haven’t broken any of the rules. We haven’t failed.”

_Yet._

The silver haired man let out a laugh. “You have a point. We’ll reconvene after lunch. Sakura, Sasuke, you’re allowed to eat. Naruto, you’re being tied to the pole.”

…

They had thirty minutes until Kakashi would come back, and Sakura planned to use every second of it.

Opening her mouth to begin her argument once again as to why they should work together, she was cut off before she could even get a word in.

“Here.”

Sasuke held out his chopsticks to a still struggling Naruto, causing the blond to pause in surprise.

“You haven’t eaten until yesterday, right? Without food you’ll be even more pathetic than you normally are, and even if you don’t stand a snowballs chance in hell of succeeding, at least you’ll tire him out more for me.”

“But Kakashi said that we’ll fail if you do that.” Naruto said with a frown. “Why risk it?”

Sasuke gestured around them. “He’s nowhere in sight, and he likely took the clock to be fixed. Just eat, you’ll slow me down even more if you’re hungry.”

That was…rude and assholeish, but _progress_ , and something Sakura could work with.

“Wait!” She interjected, digging through her pockets until she found what she was looking for. “I have some protein bars on me. They don’t taste the best but they’re filling, and that way we won’t be low on energy either.”

Sakura was willing to bet she was doing better than either of them, considering she had eaten breakfast, but after all the running she had done she was _famished_.

Naruto blinked in surprise, a grin creeping onto his face as he tore into the food. “Thanks Sakura! Thanks Sasuke! We’ll be able to kick his ass this time, yeah?”

_Thank you for that opening._ “About that-”

Thunder crashed and a looming figure appeared out of nowhere, Sakura just barely containing her scream.

_“You disobeyed my orders.”_ Kakashi growled, sending shivers down her spine.

Had she been wrong? Was the test really the bells and she had just read into it too much? Oh god, had she made them fail?

“We’re a team, aren’t we? If Naruto is weaker, than so are we as a unit.” Sasuke’s tone was confident, but the pinkette could see his hands shaking ever so slightly.

If he could stand up to Kakashi, so could she.

Pushing herself to her feet, Sakura stood beside the Uchiha. “That’s right! Konoha is all about teamwork, so why should we be punished for helping ours?”

_Please don’t be a mistake please don’t be a mistake._

“You all…”

Sakura braced for disappointment.

“Pass.”

She nearly collapsed with relief, the only thing keeping her standing was the sheer embarrassment of the thought of her team seeing her do that.

“In the shinobi world, those who do not complete their mission and disobey orders are trash.” He met each of their gazes. “But those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash.”

The intensity in his words made Sakura swallow.

“Meet me outside of the Hokage tower at 6am sharp.”

And with a whirlwind of leaves, he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, hope you're having a good day.
> 
> This chapter was pretty fun to write, and i was trying to show that Sakura actually uses her brain to solve her problems, since it was hyped up that she got perfect test scores, but then Kishimoto did very little with her intelligence. Oh yeah, she becomes a bomb medic who can heal all the things, but her intelligence never seems to come into play for a lot of things like strategy or planning attacks. We see her use it in fights-the few she gets focused on her-but it's never really the main component. 
> 
> Since there isn't much i want to talk about otherwise, i'm going to go into detail as to where Kishimoto failed with Sakura's character and what could have been done.
> 
> First of all, Sakura is the only one without a tragic backstory on her team. Now, this was probably because Kishimoto didn't bother writing her one because he didn't think she was important of interesting enough to have one, but this could have been utilized in a very interesting way. Because the rest of her team had no measure for "normal", she could have been that for them. She could have been the one to pull them back from the edge and talk them down to earth. She didn't have a crazy family or tragic past, so she wasn't clouded by that and could have brought a sense of stability to team 7. She wouldn't be "boring" she'd be stable. Rational. The down to earth one in a group with tragic stories and who were born of legends.
> 
> Kishimoto tried to hard to make her "a normal teenaged girl" that he seemed to forget that she was a child soldier as well, and completely flopped on any interesting character interactions this could have caused.
> 
> When i first watched Naruto, i hated Sakura but wanted to like her, because she was the only main female character, and got excited so many times only to be disappointed as Kishi dropped the ball again and again.
> 
> Because if you aren't ninja jesus i guess you don't matter.
> 
> As for her development, i think she should have gotten more serious after the Zabuza arc, and at the latest the Chunin exams. Kishimoto tries to give her growth with that whole hair cutting scene, but then she needs to be saved...again. She should have driven the Sound Nin off by herself, using intelligence and guerilla tactics. It would have been a really powerful moment for her, and shown that she can accomplish things on her own.
> 
> Her fight with Ino...let's not talk about that. Honestly, Kishimoto goes out of his way to make a bunch of those fights cool-Gaara vs Rock Lee, Hinata vs Neji, and then just...fucking flops when it comes to the MAIN FEMALE CHARACTER and her growth.
> 
> "i'M nOt sExIsT sEe? i mAdE tHe mAgIc mOoN gOdEsS lAdY tHe fInAl vIlLaIn" stfu man.
> 
> Her crush on Sasuke would not and should not have lasted through all of the shit that happened. Even if you don't trust the rationality of a 13 year old girl, trust how spiteful they can be. Believe me when i say that teenaged girls are vicious creatures (i would know, i was one) and if you constantly insulted them, and then betrayed their trust over and over, they would not only get over their crush, but BEAT YOU INTO THE GROUND. yeah, yeah, love and whatnot, but Sakura seems WAY smarter than this in every other situation not related to Sasuke.
> 
> She should have moved on from him, and focused on herself. When he tries to kill Killer B, she should completely steel herself from any emotions from him, because she is a shinobi too, and has no doubt done her own missions where she's had to put her emotions aside. She should have made a real attempt on Sasuke's life, where she nearly kills him and is stopped by...idk something. But she shouldn't break down crying and need to be saved by Naruto, because that sets back her growth as a character SO far.
> 
> Sakura should not have been relegated to a housewife after the series ended. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a housewife or husband-you do you, i don't fucking care-when your previous job was punching the earth so hard earthquakes happened, and manually beating people's hearts for them, it doesn't make sense and just kinda plays into this "all women eventually settle down with a man" society thing that is gross.
> 
> SAKURA SHOULD NOT HAVE MARRIED SASUKE. I don't care why you think they should be together-we were shown like, two moments when they were TWELVE that were sorta cutesy, but then Sasuke went all murdery and betrayed the village and tried to kill her MORE THAN ONCE, along with her friends. Literally anyone else would have been better. CHOUJI AND THAT RANDOM CLOUD GIRL MAKES MORE SENSE THAN THIS SHIT ARE YOU ACTUALLY KIDDING ME KISHIMOTO. Sakura would be well within her right to just, have NOT healed Sasuke after his fight with Naruto and left him to bleed out.
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome, hate will be laughed at and the gay will be strong
> 
> byyyyyyyyye


	8. Weeding and Whining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura and her teammates do some D ranks and she has a conversation with a competent teacher.

“Get out of my way, Dead Last.”

“Nuh uh! You’re in _my_ way!”

“Tch.”

If Sakura heard one more word from either boy these herbs would have more than just fertilizer to feed on.

It had been three weeks since their team had formed and even after their whole proclamation of teamwork, they were a mess.

Naruto was constantly goading Sasuke and the other boy didn’t help the matter, usually responding with insults until the got into some competition or another, derailing what they were _actually_ supposed to be doing. Sakura wasn’t doing much better herself. She still hadn’t forgiven the Uchiha, and Naruto was just…annoying and got on her nerves. She’d shouted at the pair of them more than once and just…tried to avoid them. Kakashi was no help either-the man was constantly reading a book or making mild comments that only fueled the antagonism between them.

They had been doing D-ranks ever since they passed the bell test, and for the most part, Sakura didn’t mind. They were easy jobs like painting a fence or what they were currently doing, which was weeding an herb garden. It didn’t interfere with her personal training much, and if she were being honest, they reminded her of home.

“When are we going to get a _real_ mission?” Naruto whined.

If only the boys would stop complaining about them.

Sasuke brushed the dirt off his shorts. “For once the idiot has a point. This is a useless waste of time. I’m sure any _civilian_ could do these jobs just fine.” He said the word civilian like it was dirty, and Sakura’s temper flared.

“It’s character building.” Kakashi said pleasantly, and it was really, _really_ hard not to snap.

Despite what the boys seemed to think, D-ranks did serve a purpose. It showed the general population that shinobi were helpful and not completely terrifying, making the fear towards them lessen. It also served as a way for them to get skills they might need in infiltration. Obviously long-term spies required specialized training, but short term they might one day need to pretend to be a gardener, and be able to fake it well enough to sneak past scrutiny.

Not that she felt like explaining that to either of them.

“I bet I can finish faster than you!” Naruto proclaimed loudly. “And then I’ll be done and can use the money for Ichiraku ramen!”

As usual, Sasuke rose to the bait. “There’s no way you’ll finish before me.” He sneered.

The blond scowled. “Just watch me!” And began tearing out the weeds ridiculously fast.

The Uchiha scoffed, but he too began ripping out plants as quickly as he could, obviously unwilling to lose to Naruto in any way shape or form.

Sakura was content to just leave them-hopefully they would be out of her hair then-when she saw what they were doing.

“STOP!” She shouted, startling both boys enough that they froze in their tracks. “Are you both complete idiots?! You’re tearing up the growing herbs as well as the weeds!”

Naruto blinked. “Oh…I didn’t think that…” He trailed off awkwardly.

“How were we supposed to know that?” Sasuke snapped defensively.

Sakura’s temper rose like a tidal wave. “Well that’s the thing, isn’t it?” she hissed. “ _You_ don’t think-” She jabbed a finger at the blond. “And _you_ always assume things!”

The Uchiha’s mouth snapped shut.

She couldn’t deal with this right now. “Leave. Both of you. I’ll finish the job and replant the herbs. Just-go.”

When they hesitated she glared fiercely. “Weren’t you just complaining about how much you hated this? Well here’s your chance to leave. _Go._ ”

Though she doubted either would admit it, the two boys scrambled away, quickly disappearing from sight.

“Maa, Sakura, I wasn’t expecting such harsh words from my cute little genin.”

She flushed in a mixture of indignation and shame. “They just-they kept complaining about how _boring_ and _easy_ it was, and then screwed it up. It’s not my fault they deemed this _below them._ And besides, if I had let them continue, we wouldn’t get payed at all!”

His lone grey eye seemed to pierce right through her, but she stood her ground.

“You have a point.” He said eventually. “Maybe be a little nicer next time though, then you won’t be stuck doing this all by yourself.”

Fury simmered just beneath her skin. Why did _she_ have to be the nice one? Why was it _her_ job to correct the boys when they barely listened to her unless she was literally screaming?

_~~“Pathetic.”~~ _

_~~I was not put on this team to succeed.~~ _

Sakura took a deep breath and released it. Getting angry at Kakashi right now would accomplish nothing.

_Take that fire, that fury and bury it inside your chest. Let it warm you when the world is cold and protect you from the monsters in the dark._

Sakura could not afford to make any mistakes, could not afford to lose her temper. She was walking a fine line and one wrong move could tip the balance.

_~~Expendable expendable expendable expendable.~~ _

She knew what had happened with Mizuki-knew that the man had been frustrated with how civilian borns were prevented from rising in the ranks. Knew that he had enjoyed making fun of the clan kids when he could get away with it. Sakura had heard everything firsthand from Naruto, and it was hard to reconcile the man who had snuck her genin access scrolls with someone who was willing to kill her classmate.

Was that her future? Was she destined to become so bitter and frustrated with the village that she betrayed it?

_~~What happens if they realize she won’t play their game, that she refuses to be cannon fodder?~~ _

So she bit her tongue and ducked her head. “Sorry, Kakashi-sensei, I’ll try not to yell next time.”

The jounin let out a hum which she took as her cue to get to work.

…

In the end, it only took her an hour to finish weeding and replacing the herbs that had been torn out. The woman who had hired them raised an eyebrow when she appeared alone, but handed over the promised money.

Sakura had calculated the amount of work they had split up, and was not surprised to find that she had done the most, earning over half of the money while the boys were left with barely enough to buy a meal.

Part of her considered splitting it evenly, but the rest of her hissed that she did the most work, so she should get the most money. Regardless, she tucked the coins into her pouch, figuring that she’d just give it to them tomorrow.

Because there was absolutely no way she was tracking them down.

Kakashi had disappeared while she’d been collecting the payment, so she figured that was all the training they were going to do today.

_~~Like we ever actually do much training at all. Does going through formations we’ve been doing for years mean we’re learning anything?~~ _

Sakura pushed down the intrusive thoughts and began making her way to her mother’s tailor shop. It was past noon, and there was probably some menial jobs she could get done.

“Oi! Sakura!”

She jumped, whirling around to see who had decided to give her a heart attack.

Shino, Hinata, Kiba, and a woman Sakura recognised from the day after graduation sat at an outside table, clearly in the middle of lunch.

Kiba, the one who had shouted, waved her towards them. “Get over here, Pinkie! These two keep talking about you, so I figured I’d do them a favor.”

Hinata blushed brightly, stuttering out an incoherent response as Shino refused to look at her. She saw the tips of his ears turn pink as she got closer, though, and couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s nice to meet you.” The woman said with a kind smile. “I’m Kurenai.”

Sakura answered with a grin of her own. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Sakura, which you clearly already know.”

“I find it likely the entire street knows. Why? Because Kiba is loud enough to wake a coma patient.” Shino said evenly, his slightly too tight grip on his chopsticks betraying his agitation.

The other boy scowled. “At least I called her over instead of just staring at her like a creep.”

“That’s enough.” Kurenai said firmly, cutting off Shino before he could do so much as open his mouth. “We don’t want to cause a disturbance and get kicked out.”

The two boys glanced at one another and did their equivalent of a shrug, and just like that, everything was back to normal.

“I wish my sensei would do that.” Slipped out of Sakura’s mouth before she could stop it.

Everyone turned to look at her.

“What d-do you mean by t-that?” Hinata questioned.

She hunched her shoulders. “It’s just-my teammates are always fighting, and our sensei never steps in, not really. It gets bad sometimes, and-today they almost messed up the D-rank we were doing and _I_ had to yell at them to stop. He just-sits there are watches us.”

Kurenai frowned. “Who’s your sensei? It doesn’t sound like he’s doing his job correctly.”

She let out a sigh. “Kakashi Hatake.”

The jounin froze. _“Hatake?”_ she said incredulously. “They let _him_ have a genin team?”

Sakura blinked. “Uh, yeah.”

Kurenai shook her head. “That man should not be training you kids-he shouldn’t be anywhere _near_ anyone fresh out of the Academy.”

“So it’s not-it’s not-”

The woman’s expression softened. “It’s not you. Honestly, I would consider requesting a team change if you haven’t already, or at the very least a different instructor. Who are your teammates?”

Sakura hesitated. “Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.”

Kurenai blanched. “Sage's sake, kid.” She held out a dumpling, ignoring Sakura’s protests. “Take it, you deserve it.”

Kiba tossed a cut of meat into his mouth. “If I had to be on the Uchiha’s team I would’ve pushed him off a cliff by now.” He eyed her closely. “Though frankly, you don’t seem that far off from doing that yourself.”

That startled a laugh out of her. “Yeah it’s been-” Horrible? Frustrating? Rage inducing? “-an experience.” She settled on.

The brunet snorted. “So what you really mean is that it’s been a clusterfuck.”

“…Yes.”

It…kind of surprised her that Kiba had payed so much attention. He often seemed a lot like Naruto-loud with little manners and always looking for a brawl. It hadn’t occurred to her that he would be this observant.

“I’m sure it-t’ll get better.” Hinata reassured her. “W-we’re all still learning right?”

Sakura attempted a smile. “There’s always hope.”

…

Sakura took it back, there was no hope.

Two weeks after the weeding incident, team 7 was standing before the _Hokage_ , and everyone was pretending this was normal! Naruto was _way_ to casual with the man, and Sasuke was indifferent. Kakashi looked as amused as always, but honestly who was surprised by that?

“We want a real mission, old man!” Naruto crowed. “I’m a shinobi now! Give me something that’s not hunting down a cat!”

Sakura wanted to bash her head against a wall. How could he be saying this to the most powerful man in Fire Country? She knew he wasn’t smart, but she hadn’t thought he was _completely_ stupid.

Thankfully, the man only chuckled fondly. “As a matter of fact, we have a C-rank escort mission for your team.”

They all perked up at that, even Sasuke looked as though he were actually paying attention.

“It’s to the Land of Waves.” The Hokage continued. “You’ll be escorting a bridge architect and making sure he stays safe until the structure is finished. It should take minimum a month for its completion.”

That was…a long time to be away from home.

“Do you have any questions?”

Sakura stepped forward. “How long will we have until we need to be ready?”

She resisted the urge to hunch her shoulders as the old shinobi’s gaze landed on her for the first time.

_~~Why would he look at you, you’re nothing but cannon fodder. Pathetic pathetic pathetic-~~ _

“You will have around an hour, though I wouldn’t dawdle.” The Hokage said calmly. “You wouldn’t want to be late for your first C-rank.”

Unconsciously, all three of the present genin’s gazes slid towards Kakashi.

…

“You’re late.” Snipped the likely drunk bridge builder. “And this is my protection detail? A blond brat, a moody vampire and a pink girl? _This_ is what Konoha has to offer?”

It took every ounce Sakura’s self control not to lash out.

_This mission is going to be a disaster._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, hope you're having a good day.
> 
> I want to start this off by saying that i finally rewrote chapter 2 and that scene with a wolf. The takeaway is the exact same so you don't have to read it if you don't want to, just figured i'd mention it. Once again, shoutout to Birdeer for allowing me to use their idea.
> 
> Anyway, back to this chapter.
> 
> I didn't mention this earlier, but since i referenced Mizuki, thought i'd tell you guys what i changed about his scene with Naruto and Iruka. Essentially everything is the same except instead of summoning a million shadow clones like he did in canon, Naruto is only able to summon like, 12, and is exhausted afterwards. That's still a shit ton, but way less OP than a million. The then sends his clones to get help, and rather than being stabbed and needing to be rescued, Iruka kicks Mizuki's ass and the ANBU who Naruto alerted only had to pick him up and take him to prison. I love how completely done Iruka is, and love his character.
> 
> Kakashi continues to be a shit teacher, but he will become better. Later.
> 
> Something that always grated on me, is that Naruto had a very obvious crush on Sakura, yet it was never treated like a hinderance the way Sakura's crush on Sasuke was. As much as a disagree with either of those potential pairings, why can't girls have crushes AND turn the earth to rubble with a well placed punch. Why is it treated like it completely renders her useless, when a male character has the exact same situation, and it completely unhindered. Like, i know Kishi was shit at writing female characters, and a ton of other things, but seriously, what bullshit is this?
> 
> I know that Kurenai would have probably already heard the gossip about Kakashi having a team, but she probably just assumed they were rumors because there's no way any rational person would let Kakashi teach genin. Right?
> 
> Also, personally i think Kiba would be smarter than they made him out to be, at least when it comes to people. In my mind, he can read people really well-partly because he can smell some of their emotions-and i think he would be a really good rock for his team. He's the only outgoing one, so he has more confidence in social situations, and i kinda tried to show that with him calling Sakura over. Hinata and Shino wanted to, but were nervous. Kiba, recognizing this because he isn't stupid, did it for them and tried to not make it like he was doing them a huge favor cause he knows that things like that are a weak spot for them. He makes it like a joke, even though he's aware that its not.
> 
> That's just my interpretation anyway, but i'm writing this so i can do what i want.
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome, hate will be laughed at and the gay will be strong.
> 
> Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wave Mission begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning!  
> There is graphic violence and death in this chapter.

Their journey began smoothly, which in hindsight, really should have warned her how badly everything was going to go to shit.

Despite Naruto’s constant yelling and the bridge builder-who she now knew as Tazuna-constantly taking shots at the team, for the first three days of travel everything was relatively calm.

They had enough supplies, encountered no bandits, and were making good time for their destination. It was slower traveling with Tanzuna than it would’ve been with just the four of them, but Sakura didn’t particularly mind. She’d never traveled very far out of Konoha, so she was absorbing as much as she could from the sights around her.

It was good practice to find the different types of plants she had read about and recognise them, mentally listing what they could be used for and how common they were. Before long, her eyes were constantly on the lookout for any unusual foliage.

And that’s when she saw it.

It was completely innocuous to her at first. After all, why would a puddle be any cause for alarm?

But then she remembered that it hadn’t rained in weeks, and with the weather warming as the beginning of summer hit, it was highly unlikely that water in an amount that small wouldn’t have evaporated by now.

That meant whoever was following them could use chakra-the puddle likely a genjutsu or transformation. Average bandits would have no idea how to do anything remotely that hard, making it clear that whoever was after them had at least some shinobi training.

Sakura forced herself to look away, attempting to act as natural as possible so to not alert their watchers. She let her hands drift closer to her weapons pouch-still far enough away to look casual but close enough that she could grab something should she need to.

It was clear that neither Naruto nor Sasuke had noticed-the former because he wouldn’t have been able to stay quiet about it, and the latter because the Uchiha’s hands were still stuffed firmly in his pockets.

She glanced over at Kakashi, his sole eye caught hers, and he gave the barest nod possible. So he knew, but wasn’t saying anything.

_For gods sake, this is not the time for another test!_

But she had few options here. If she warned the boys, it might tip off those who were watching them that she knew. If she didn’t, they might get injured or even killed.

But surely Kakashi would protect them, right?

_~~“The most useful she’ll ever be, is as cannon fodder.”~~ _

_~~I was not put on this team to succeed.~~ _

It…was best that she didn’t make assumptions.

_~~“Civilian born scum.”~~ _

It was another hour before the enemy made their move.

The false puddles appeared more than once after their initial showing, and every time she spotted one Sakura’s heart jumped in her chest. The waiting was worse than anything she’d experienced before.

It was almost a relief when they finally attacked.

Two long bladed whips struck Kakashi, pinning him to a tree as Sakura dove for Tazuna, tackling him to the ground and out of the way of a flurry of shuriken.

Sasuke blocked a blow with one of his kunai, leaping in front of Naruto to defend the paralyzed boy. While the Uchiha was holding his own, it was clear that he was outmatched.

Sakura forced herself to her feet, keeping one eye on a fearful Tazuna and another on the battle unfolding in front of her. She couldn’t abandon the client, but if she didn’t do _something_ , both her teammates might die!

Out of the bushes, an unharmed Kakashi emerged, the one pinned transforming into a log with a puff of smoke. Almost lazily, he intercepted the second shinobi who’d been about to stab Naruto and pounded him into the ground, his skull emitting a sickening _crack!_

The other whirled around just in time to see Kakashi slit his throat, the shinobi collapsing, dead before he hit the ground.

The woods were silent.

Sakura’s heart pounded painfully in her chest, fear and revulsion rising in equal parts as she stared at the dead and dying bodies. Tazuna wasn’t doing much better-the builder staring with wide eyes even as he got to his feet.

Naruto was still frozen in place, his tan skin an unhealthy pallor as a choked noise escaped his lips. He hadn’t even moved to grab a weapon.

Sasuke didn’t look nearly so alarmed, the Uchiha slipping his kunai back into its pouch and turning back to face the blond. “Something wrong, scaredy cat?

The harsh words seemed to shake Naruto out of his fright, fists clenching in indignation. “I’m not a scaredy cat!”

“Then why’d you freeze?”

The blond had no response to that.

Kakashi loudly cleared his throat. “We should get moving.” He glanced at the bridge builder, eye glinting coldly. “And Tazuna, I think it’s time you tell us what’ _really_ going on.”

The old man paled.

…

A mobster was after their client, an honest to god _mobster_.

Tazuna’s voice was low and grave as he spoke of his village, grief and rage passing over his expression as he explained. They couldn’t afford to hire Konoha shinobi for anything above a C-rank, thus their current situation.

It was pretty clear to Sakura what needed to happen next. The village had protocols that delt with things like this, and it would be easy enough to send a messenger hawk back and switch places with another team. This mission was was now at _least_ a B-rank with the hiring of shinobi by Gato, and genin were not permitted to be a part of those unless it was an emergency situation, which this was not. If what Tazuna said was true, Konoha would likely keep the fee the same and either ask for a favor or money when the Land of Waves had some to spare.

However, she agreed with Kakashi for the moment-they needed to keep moving. If Gato really was determined to keep the bridge from being built, he likely hired more than those two shinobi, and who knew when they’d find those bodies?

Her unease only grey as they came closer and closer to the Land of Waves, heavy mists and an eerie atmosphere only served to make her hands drift closer to her weapons pouch.

“…Hey…Sakura…” The pinkette jumped in surprise, more startled that Naruto was talking quietly than when he shouted. “Do…do you think Sasuke’s right?”

The blond sounded much more subdued than usual, his confident smile nowhere in sight as he kept pace beside her.

She decided to buy herself some more time. “Right about what?”

He fiddled with his kunai pouch. “Me freezing.” The boy mumbled. “How…I’ll never be worth anything.”

And Sakura didn’t know what to say. Sure Naruto was loud, and annoying overly confident, but he was never malicious. He was kind to everyone who was kind to him, and even those who weren’t. He’d always been terrible at Theoretical, and had skipped more days than anyone else, but shown surprising proficiency when it came to survival skills and Practical. He was far from the best in the class, but then again, neither was Sakura.

_~~So why do all the adults in the village hate him?~~ _

“Why are you asking me?” she questioned, still unsure how to respond.

Naruto shrugged. “Don’t really have anyone else. Iruka ain’t here, and I don’t really want to talk to Kakashi.”

It was then that Sakura was reminded that the blond lived alone. That he was an orphan who didn’t have anyone to come home to at the end of the day. No adult besides Iruka to congratulate him when he succeeded or console him when he failed.

“Sasuke…is better than us.” She said slowly. “In a fight he would be able to beat us, no doubt.”

Naruto slumped.

“But he’s also had more training. From what Ino told me, Clans train their members constantly from a very young age. We only had the Academy, so of course we’re behind them.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m willing to bet that if we were born in a clan like him, we’d be on his level.”

The blond stared at her. “Even-even though I froze?”

Sakura tentatively put a hand on his shoulder. “This is our first real mission. C-ranks aren’t supposed to be this dangerous, so it’s not your fault. Focus on the future, okay? All you can do is try to be better.”

He smiled blindingly at her. “Thanks Sakura! I knew you’d be able to help. I promise not to freeze and force you guys to protect me.”

It was hard to resist grinning back.

_“MOVE!_ ” Kakashi bellowed.

…

Instinct propelled Sakura to the side, somehow maintaining enough presence of mind to bring Naruto with her. Sasuke does similarly with Tazuna, and two long blades struck where they stood seconds ago.

The figure responsible rose from his crouch slowly, long dark hair moving in the slight wind. His headband revealed him to be a shinobi of the Hidden Mist, the slash through the symbol upon it marking him as a Missing Nin.

“Well, well, well.” He removed his blades from the ground, turning to face an armed Kakashi. “This should be interesting.”

Sakura saw Sasuke back Tazuna up even further in an attempt to get out of the enemy shinobi’s line of sight and grabbed Naruto’s shoulder to do the same. This…this wasn’t a fight they should be participating in.

“Most jounin wouldn’t have been able to sense me coming, but you did.” He casually stalked towards their sensei, lazy, almost in his movements. “How I do enjoy a challenge.”

Naruto swallowed.

“Let’s play a game, shall we?”

If asked what happened next, Sakura wouldn’t be able to tell you. To her, it was like one moment the two men were a dozen feet away from one another, and the next they were crossing blades.

The difference between the two was startling as it was bone shaking. The mystery man seemed to be enjoying himself, laughing as they exchanged blows, while Kakashi was silent. The clang of metal rang out like a melody, their blades meeting again and again.

It was clear that their enemy was a master at kenjutsu, his form impeccable and he looked entirely at ease with his swords in hand.

“Do you really think you can defeat me?! I am Raiga Kurosuki, Thunder of the Hidden Mist! All those who face me shall perish, and after I’m done with you, I’ll collect that wonderful bounty on the bridge builders head.”

The two jounin separated, and Kakashi’s hand rose to his own headband, raising it so that it no longer covered his left eye.

Sasuke inhaled sharply, eyes widening as they took in the lazily spinning Sharingan.

_Aren’t Uchiha the only ones who have it? And why is only_ one _of his eyes like that?_

Raiga’s eyes lit up. “Ahh, no wonder those pathetic chunin weren’t able to complete the task. They would have stood no chance against Kakashi of the Sharingan.”

Kakashi’s only response was a lunge.

The ensuing fight takes off at an even quicker pace, neither side seeming to give an inch.

Until a clone breaks off of Raiga, headed straight for them. The three of them get into formation in front of Tazuna, but Sakura isn’t sure it’ll be enough. This man was skilled enough to keep up with _Kakashi_ , even a clone would likely be more than enough to kill them.

Their sensei clearly agreed, disengaging with the real Raiga in order to cut the clone down before it reached them.

Kakashi turned back to face the man, only to be forced to dodge as Raiga’s two blades sliced the air above him, alight with lightening. The silver haired man retaliated with a blade to the throat, slicing deep.

For a second, Sakura thinks it’s over.

Until the body melts into water and a figure appears behind their sensei, a low chuckle reverberating all throughout the swamp.

A swell of water rose from below and traps Kakashi, fully enveloping him.

“Water Prison jutsu.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all hope you're having a good day.
> 
> Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, if not, happy holidays! I am releasing this chapter a day early as my gift to you.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Now, onto the story.
> 
> Sakura is smart, so i do believe if she was actually paying attention, she would be able to figure out the whole puddle thing. On top of that, she is actually extremely worried about how much protection Kakashi would give her. She knows she's glorified cannon fodder, so she has no confidence that she will be saved should something happen. And i honestly think that thought process would be reasonable, she has no reason to think they would find her worth saving, and none of them are exactly fond of one another, so it's completely understandable why she would think like that.
> 
> Also, i'm toning some of the strength of the characters down a bit. Sasuke can't beat chunnin level opponents as a baby genin, and Naruto can only summon a dozen at most shadow clones before like, passing out. This gives them more room to grow and is a bit more realistic. 
> 
> As much as i don't like Naruto and Sakura in a romantic relationship, i do like them as friends. Once Naruto gets over himself and calms down a bit, i think the two of them would really bond over growing up without extra training like their classmates. Their situations aren't the same, but they have the capacity to grow close and really care for one another. This chapter was the beginning of that relationship i hope to write between them. Naruto has had very little positive reinforcement in his life, and while Sakura hasn't exactly been the nicest to him, she's never been malicious either, so i do think he would seek her out for comfort. He may be confident, but he's also a kid and likely hides a lot of insecurity under his loud cheerful façade.
> 
> So onto the villain...
> 
> Did i decide to change one thing in my Naruto universe and then that one change had ridiculous ripples throughout the entirety of the world because Kishimoto wrote so many things to be contrived and ridiculous which ultimately gave me an excuse to do something i wanted to anyway? Yes, yes I did.
> 
> Raiga is an actual villain in the Naruto universe, though i'm not sure if it was just in the anime. I looked for like an hour to find a shinobi similar enough to Zabuza that i wouldn't have to change too many things about this arc. There will obviously be some changes, but quite frankly i didn't want to have to come up with an original villain character, so he was convenient.
> 
> Essentially in my version, Madara went insane on his own and died in his fight with Hashirama. Kaguya does not exist. Neither black or white Zetsu exist. Thus Obito was not saved by Madara-someone does save him but i'm saving that knowledge for much later down the line. Because of this, Yagura never gets hypnotized and controlled and thus Zabuza never attempts a coup and has to leave the village and therefor no Zabuza needing money and working for Gato.
> 
> I told you it was convoluted, didn't I?
> 
> Also the Ultimate Mangekyo nor the rennigan exist because they are stupid and wildly overpowered. The normal Mangekyou sharingan does exist, but like, only 3 people alive have it and i'm adding more restrictions. Seriously, the amount of magic eye bullshit in Naruto is astonishing. 
> 
> Raiga just abandoned the Hidden Mist village because he didn't like the other Seven Swordsman and was going to have his sword taken from him. At least in my fic, i don't actually know what his real story is but i take cannon as a light suggestion not law as you may have noticed.
> 
> I am not at all sorry for the cliffhanger, i love making people suffer when it comes to reading.
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome, hate will be laughed at and the gay will be strong
> 
> Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye


	10. Bluff Like Your Life Depends On it, Because it Does

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura comes up with a desperate plan to free Kakashi.

Fear gripped Sakura like a vice.

Raiga had just taken out their sensei in less than five minutes. Their sensei, who was a jounin and apparently famous enough that the other man had recognised him. Their sensei, who was now trapped in a ball of water with a grim look on his face.

This was not going to end well.

The Missing Nin raised his unoccupied hand, fingers quickly running through signs until a clone rose from the water beside him

“It’s a shame I can’t play with you more.” The original smirked. “I’ve always liked hearing the young ones scream.”

Naruto stepped forward, hands shaking even as he brought them together. Half a dozen shadow clones _poofed_ into existence in front the, ready to engage Raiga’s.

_Think!_ She snapped at herself. _This’ll only buy us so much time. You need to think!_

Sakura could do this. She just needed to break everything up into parts. Ok, ok, ok. They couldn’t run, because Tazuna would be much slower than them, and even without him it was unlikely they’d be able to escape. Their best option here was to free Kakashi. That being said, why did Raiga send a clone at them? It would have been much easier to finish them off himself considering even solid clones could be dispersed if hit hard enough. Not that it was likely that they’d be able to land a blow on a weakened version of Raiga, but _why?_

She eyed the hand the man had inside the water prison. He hadn’t removed it to make his clone either. Something about how the jutsu stayed in place must have to do with him constantly feeding chakra into it like that.

With that in mind, she dragged Naruto over to where Sasuke and Tazuna stood, the former’s lips pursed tightly as the blond’s last clones were dispelled. It had looked unsettlingly easy for Raiga to do.

“We need to make him move his hand out of the bubble.” Sakura whispered. “I think if he does that, Kakashi-sensei will be freed.”

Sasuke glanced at her briefly before nodding curtly. “But how the hell are we gonna to that?”

She took a deep breath. “I have an idea.”

…

Kakashi watched helplessly as his students whispered amongst themselves, their fear evident even as the two boys stepped forward to face Raiga’s clone.

Sasuke brought out a handful of shuriken and kunai as Naruto summoned another half-dozen shadow clones, the amount of chakra necessary making the blond pale.

Raiga only looked amused. “Do you really think that that’ll be enough to stop me? Go ahead kids, _try._ ”

Naruto’s clones once again intercepted Ragia’s as Sasuke darted to the side and aimed his weapons at the man’s real body. It was a smart idea but failed miserably as the swordsman merely dodged them with ease.

_I can’t watch Minato’s son die. I can’t lose another team._

“Well that was pathetic.” Raiga snorted. “I captured Kakashi of the Sharingan, did you really think mere _kunai_ would save you?”

“Did you?” Questioned a familiar voice.

A figure that looked _exactly like Kakashi_ stepped in front of Tazuna, gait lazy and relaxed.

“Seems to me you fell for the old switchero. You must not be all that strong if you feel accomplished taking out a genin.”

His last student wearing his face grinned. “Let’s see how you fare taking the _real_ me on.”

…

Sakura had never been so terrified.

Her plan was fairly simple, yet if even one thing went wrong, they could kiss any chance of freeing Kakashi goodbye. It relied heavily on two things, one of them being entirely her responsibility to pull off. If she failed here, everything would go to pieces.

So she forced herself into the lazy drawl Kakashi used so frequently, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she smirked. “What? Cat got your tongue?”

Raiga stared at her with a mixture of surprise and amusement. “Are you really expecting me to buy this?” He snorted. “You’ve clearly just put on a henge.”

Sakura made herself shrug, attempting to hide her trembles. “Believe what you want. Do _you_ really think you could’ve trapped _Kakashi of the Sharingan_ so easily?” She scoffed. “Please.”

“You want me to believe a mere _genin_ fought me?” Raiga snorted.

She instilled as much pure arrogance into her tone as she was capable of. “They are _my_ students.”

The man drew himself up. “I am one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist!” He growled. “You dare question my skill?”

“I question if your mind is more than an empty cesspool. I’m not sure if you are really so stupid, or if you’re purposefully tricking yourself. It’s kind of sad really.”

Raiga’s lips curled into a snarl, rage alight in his gaze. “I am going to enjoy killing you.”

She chuckled, attempting to keep her voice even as goosebumps erupted over her skin. “Temper, temper. It’s no wonder they kicked you out of your village with an attitude like that.”

The real Kakashi was staring at her with a mixture of disbelief and horror, and Sakura felt some strange sense of accomplishment at that. Of course, that was mostly overshadowed by her overwhelming fear, but if they got out of this alive, she’d make sure to savor that expression in her memory.

“I left! Those fools did not cast me out! I chose to leave!” Despite how riled up the man was, he still didn’t remove his hand. Unsurprising, but it would have made everything a lot easier.

Sakura shrugged once more. “If you say so.” Her tone relaying disbelief even as the lump in her throat grew.

“Why you-”

A figure burst out from underneath the water barely a foot away from Raiga, half a dozen kunai aiming at his right arm and his eyes. The swordsman jerked back, unwilling it seemed, to pay that price to keep Kakashi imprisoned.

Raiga’s swords slashed through the air, Naruto frantically scrambling away even as the blades came down upon him.

Kakashi stood between them, a single kunai blocking each sword.

His sharingan spun menacingly. “Shall we go again?”

…

Sakura’s knees buckled.

Relief like she’d never felt before cascaded over her, her henge dropping as she too fell. Her plan had worked. No one died, she didn’t get stabbed, and Kakashi was free.

Two arms grabbed her before she hit the ground, hoisting her to her feet.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “You really are annoying.” But it was said with less bite than usual.

Naruto pulled himself out of the water, dripping wet and grinning. “Did you guys see that?! He didn’t suspect a thing! I was the best disguised kunai in the world!”

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. “And you never would have been useful unless _I_ hadn’t thrown you in the proper place.”

She smacked both of them in the arm. “What matters is that it worked. We should surround Tazuna again. Just because Raiga dispelled his water clone after Kakashi-sensei was freed doesn’t mean he won’t make another one later.”

With those sobering words, they fell into formation once more.

It was somewhat surreal to watch the two jounin face off once more, the fact that they were standing on water not helping the fantastic element. It became even stranger as Kakashi somehow did the exact same thing as Raiga, the latter clearly becoming unsettled.

“Lightning dragon jutsu!”

Two large lightning dragons crashed into one another, sparks flying in every direction as they cancelled one another out. Their summoners remained in place, eyes locked as their movements continued to match.

“How is Kakashi-sensei doing that?” Naruto questioned. “Is he reading that guys mind?”

Sasuke scoffed. “Of course not, he isn't a Yamanaka. It’s because-”

Whatever the boy had been about to say next was drowned out by the _enormous_ wave that cascaded above them. The three of them grabbed Tazuna and managed to haul him to higher ground in the trees just before the water hit where they’d stood seconds ago.

Raiga had been thrown against a tree, kunai and shuriken sticking out of his arms and torso as blood seeped into the water.

Kakashi advanced to deliver the killing blow.

The swordsman raised a hand that cackled with lightning. “You win this round, but not the next.”

He slammed it into the water, steam erupting everywhere and they were temporarily blinded.

Sakura braced herself for an attack.

As the steam cleared, nothing but fallen kunai remained where Raiga once stood.

Kakashi turned to them. “Well, that was fun.”

And then promptly collapsed.

…

Let it be known that Sasuke and Naruto could not be trusted in any diplomatic position. It was extremely fortunate that Tazuna was still hiring them and seemed to feel some sort of responsibility, because otherwise she was sure they would have gotten tossed into the streets for how little manners they displayed.

And considering the poor state of the village she’s glimpsed on their way here, it wouldn’t be pleasant.

Lugging Kakashi’s unconscious body had been far from easy, but between the three of them they managed to drag him into the spare room Tazuna’s family had been willing to give them.

“I’ll make you some soup.” The woman named Tsunami said with a kind smile. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

When neither of the boys responded, Sakura forced an unworried expression onto her face. “That would be wonderful. And don’t worry about him, he just has chakra exhaustion. With a bit of rest he’ll be right as rain.”

At least she hoped so.

Regardless, it would do no good to worry the woman, especially since they were still technically supposed to be protecting Tazuna. She couldn’t wait until they were able to send a message back to the village. Then this whole mess would be someone else’s problem.

“This room is tiny.” Sasuke wrinkled his nose. “And disgusting.”

It would be so, so easy to pour the glass of water she was holding on him. So easy.

Thankfully, Naruto responded before the urge overwhelmed her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said with a frown. “It’s nicer than my apartment.”

That was…somewhat concerning. Where did he live anyway? She knew he hadn’t been with the orphanage since they were eight…which thinking back on it was _also_ really concerning. Who lets an eight-year-old live on his own?

Sakura attempted to refocus. “We don’t know when Kakashi-sensei will wake up, so we should take turns watching him and making sure he doesn’t get worse.” She considered their situation. “Raiga looked pretty injured, so I don’t think he’ll come back anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean Gato won’t send someone else. One of us should be watching him at all times as well.”

Sasuke scowled at her. “Who made you team leader?” he sneered.

Sakura forced her anger down. “No one.” She said as evenly as possible. “I’m just trying to make a plan of some sort of so we have some idea of what to do next. Feel free to contribute some ideas.” _You arrogant bastard._

The Uchiha sniffed and it took every ounce of her self control not to snap. “I wouldn’t trust either of you to watch anything more important than an acorn. Besides, sticking together is a better idea.”

_It’s not worth it, it’s not worth it, it’s not worth it._

_~~“Pathetic.”~~ _

_~~“The most useful she’ll ever be, is as cannon fodder.”~~ _

“That’s a good point.” Her words were as sweet as she could make them. “I’m going to see if I can convince Tazuna to stay at the house until Kakashi wakes up so we’re not spread too thin.”

Something about her expression must have tipped the old man off about her annoyance, because he gave little protest to being homebound for the foreseeable future.

“It ain’t like you brats could properly protect me anyway.” He grumbled.

Sakura would probably be more offended if she didn’t agree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, hope you're having a good day.
> 
> This ball is finally rolling! We're actually entering plot! These are exciting times indeed.
> 
> So yeah, i definitely was inspired by cannon when it came to this scene, but i obviously changed it so that it involved Sakura.
> 
> The reason that Raiga didn't immediately have the clones kill Sakura when she was bluffing is because a) Naruto's clones were distracting it, and b) because shinobi, especially high level ones, are paranoid bastards, he wasn't completely sure she was lying, so he was stalling temporarily so that he could either call her out of discover that she was telling the truth. 
> 
> Sakura is trying so hard you guys.
> 
> Also, i'm not sure if i adressed this in the last chapter, but the reason that it takes them longer than in canon to get to wave, is that Wave isn't actually that much closer than Suna, and that takes 3 days for shinobi to get there. Since they were travelling with a civilian, its reasonable that it would take a few days.
> 
> Next chapter will be Kakashi actually teaching his students something...sort of...
> 
> He's...not really trying but i swear he'll get better eventually.
> 
> I kept Kakashi fainting to set up the whole chakra exhaustion that comes with the sharingan, and will also attempt to make it much more consistent than it was in canon. 
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome, hate will be laughed at and the gay will be strong.
> 
> Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye


	11. Wait And Watch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura learns to tree walk and the team makes a decision.

It took three days for Kakashi to wake up.

In typical fashion, he pretended as though nothing had happened, acting as if he was in full health as soon as he rose from his cot.

Sakura had gotten chakra depletion before, though thankfully never to the extent where she’d passed out. It was the inevitable consequence of having much smaller reserves than everyone else in class, and she knew for a fact that it left you feeling lightheaded and weak, even after your reserves were full again. There was no way Kakashi felt as good as he was acting, but calling him out would be pointless.

“You kiddies did pretty good when I got trapped, but I figured it was time to focus on some individual training.” The man in question said with a grin, gesturing to three large oaks in the middle of the woods where he had brought them. “You’re going to learn how to tree climb.”

Naruto frowned. “I already know how to climb trees though. I did it all the time back in Konoha.”

Sasuke scoffed. “He means with chakra, you idiot.”

“Huh?”

Before the Uchiha could made another comment, Kakashi pointedly cleared his throat. “Allow me to demonstrate.”

The silver haired man then proceeded to walk towards the tree, placing a foot on the bark and _walked up the oak. **Vertically**._

Sakura’s mouth dropped open, though she quickly shut it as Kakashi walked back down the tree.

“You focus chakra on your feet and walk.” He explained simply. “Now off you go.”

Naruto immediately raced to the tree, face scrunched in concentration as he put a foot on the tree and-

Was promptly blasted backwards.

The boy landed on his back, blue eyes wide with shock but not pain. “What happened?” he sputtered.

Sasuke sneered. “You did it wrong, clearly.” Before placing his own sandal on the bark of his own tree. He managed to get one step up before he too fell.

He didn’t get blasted back like Naruto, merely unstuck and went straight down.

Huh.

Sakura’s brain kicked into gear, considering each piece of evidence she’d been shown and analyzing it. _It has to do with chakra control_. She realized. _Naruto used too much, so he got blasted back, Sasuke used too little so he fell. You need to find the balance._

Fortunately for her, Sakura had always excelled at chakra control. It was a side effect of never having any to spare. Each drop was precious and valuable when you had a glass instead of a bucket.

She waited until neither of the boys were paying attention to make her move. Gently placing her foot on the truck of the tree, the focused on her chakra and guided it to her foot. Sakura adjusted the amount until her shoe was firmly in place and took a step.

She didn’t fall.

Taking a deep breath, she put her left foot forward and applied the same amount of chakra, keeping the flow to both her feet consistent.

From there, it was easy to walk up the tree, eventually settling on the highest branch that could support her weight. It was honestly much easier than she’d been expecting, especially after how finicky the Mokuton had been.

She was honestly content to watch her teammates from here, neither seeming to have realized that she wasn’t beside them anymore. There wasn’t any real reason to draw attention to herself.

“Well, well, well, looks like the only girl on the team is the first to master tree walking.”

Or Kakashi could just blatantly draw the boys’ attention to her. That was also a thing that was now happening.

Sakura gave a weak smile, trying to ignore the way Sasuke scowled and sneered at her while Naruto stared in awe.

“Wow Sakura! How did you do that?”

She opened her mouth to explain when Sasuke scoffed. “You need someone to hold your hand when figuring something as simple as this out?”

Naruto frowned. “No I don’t! I’ll learn how to tree walk all on my own.”

The blond took another run at the tree, managing a single step before being blasted away once more.

“Pathetic.”

Kakashi sighed dramatically. “Well, since Sakura was the only one to master this exercise, she’ll be the only one to join me guarding Tazuna. You two will have to stay here.”

Both boys froze at that.

“What!? Why not!?” Naruto exclaimed at the same time Sasuke drew himself up and sneered. “You’d really rather take a useless civilian born just because she can walk up a tree?”

But Kakashi was not to be moved. “When you two have mastered this exercise, you can help with guarding. As of right now, only Sakura is eligible.”

Sakura’s face twitched, but other than that she managed to keep her expression still. So _this_ was Kakashi’s game. He was using her success to goad the boys into trying harder. This wasn’t really for her benefit a all.

She exhaled slowly, allowing her fury to seep into her bones.

_~~“Expendable.”~~ _

_~~“Worthless.”~~ _

_~~“Civilian born scum.”~~ _

Sakura ignored the jealous looks her teammates sent her and went to follow Kakashi, nails digging into her forearms.

_~~I wonder if my Will of Fire is supposed to be lit with rage.~~ _

…

Walking through the village was even more depressing without Kakashi’s deadweight to distract her.

Tazuna doesn’t so much as blink at the desolate state of his home, moving past hollow cheeked children and men with desperate eyes unflinchingly. She wondered if it was because he was used to it, or that if he paused he would never be able to move again for fear of breaking the eerie silence that surrounded them.

This was her first glimpse of true poverty, and she suddenly understood why Tazuna had been so desperate to get there. Sakura didn’t know what she would have done if her home had been caught in the grip of someone like Gato. Would she have given in out of fear? Allowed someone that despicable to continue their reign without hindrance at the cost of her family’s livelihood?

She imagined her mother, her sharp tongued mother who had once kicked out half a dozen men from her store for harassing another customer, gaunt and hungry, trapped by water on all sides. She imagined her kind, cheerful father who made friends wherever he went, stifled by the misery that seemed to permeate the air.

Sakura’s stomach churned.

When they arrived, there was already a dozen or so men and women waiting there, exhaustion and something like hope in each of their eyes. They probably weren’t being paid for this, yet were here anyway, here to try to save their home.

Tazuna didn’t spare them a second glance, immediately going to the workers and giving out orders. His expression didn’t change much, and if you weren’t paying attention, you’d think he didn’t care about what he was doing.

But Sakura saw the tension in his frame, the softness in his eyes as he spoke to his fellow villagers even if his words were harsh.

Tazuna was not nice. He was a rude old man with a chip on his shoulder and who hadn’t called her by her name _once_ in the week they’d known each other. But, despite all that, Tazuna was _kind_. Niceness can be faked, a monster can smile and hold your door open, but real kindness isn’t nearly so easy to observe.

From what she had seen, Tazuna was skilled at what he did, skilled enough that it would have been no great challenge for him to abandon his village and find work elsewhere. But here he was, risking his life for the sake of his home. He had no duty, no _obligation_ to do so, yet there he stood, ready to begin building something that was far more than a bridge.

“Why don’t you stick by the south side.” Kakashi suggested. “That way you’ll be out of everyone’s hair and still be in the vicinity.”

Sakura’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Sounds good.”

_~~Always in the way, aren’t you?~~ _

…

She perched on the side until the sun set, watching as the workers begin heading home.

There had been no sign of Raiga or any other shinobi as far as she could tell, and Kakashi hadn’t mentioned anything either.

Sakura followed Tazuna and Kakashi back to the house.

…

Dinner was a tense affair.

Sasuke couldn’t seem to decide who to glare at, while Naruto just scarfed down every crumb of food within reach. Tazuna insulted them all and Tsunami smiled weakly while quietly scolding Inari when he spat at them.

It was a relief to head back to the guest room, even if it meant being cramped together, because at least then she could pretend she was asleep.

“We have a decision to make.”

Or not.

Sakura slowly sat up, turning to face Kakashi along with her teammates. “What do you mean?” She questioned.

“Do we want to go back to Konoha or not.” He explained. “I figured you three could vote and decide that way.”

Wait, _what?!_ He was going to let them _decide?_ It was protocol to send a messenger hawk back and have a more experienced team take over! Why on earth would he give them the option to stay!?

“We can’t just abandon these people!” Naruto exclaimed. “We can do this!”

No, no they could not do this. They had been attacked by a jounin less than a week ago! Who wasn’t even dead and would likely return. No no no _no!_

Sakura rubbed her temples. “We wouldn’t be abandoning them, we’d be leaving them in more competent hands-”

“If you’re scared, just say so.” Sasuke sneered. “Its not like anyone here thinks you can actually handle anything serious.”

Sakura went still.

The Uchiha continued. “You can head back to Konoha if you want, but a _real_ shinobi completes their missions no matter the challenges thrown their way. I’m not surprised someone like _you_ wouldn’t understand.”

_And I’m not surprised someone as arrogant as you thinks that they’re untouchable just because they were the best fighter at the Academy._ The words are at the tip of her tongue and she wanted to, oh how she wanted to.

But she remembered what Kakashi had told her the last time she’d lost her temper, remembered the condescending words and mild scolding despite the fact that she hadn’t said anything worse than the two boys did to each other regularly.

_But I’m not allowed to be like them. I’m the extra, the canon fodder, the opinion less mediator. I’m not allowed to complain._

If they ended up fighting Raiga again, it was unlikely he would fall for the same trick twice and would just finish them off without preamble. They didn’t get to tap out here, and if they lost, they died.

Sakura was the worst fighter out of all of them, and she _knew_ that. What was wrong with knowing your weaknesses and taking steps to not die because of them?! It wasn’t cowardice to not welcome death.

She had more reason to fear it than the rest of them. After all, the higher ups would _expect_ her to take the place of one of her ‘more important’ teammates should their life be in danger. They clearly saw her as disposable. For her, death would come before any of the rest of them, and for some reason using common sense was considered a flaw.

But Sakura said none of that. She didn’t rage, didn’t snap, didn’t point out _exactly_ how many ways this could spell out their doom. Didn’t point out the arrogance or break in protocol, or how the people of this village would benefit much more from higher skilled shinobi.

Sakura was outnumbered and outvoted here, and if she wanted to win, to stay alive, she would need to play their game until she had a chance to make it her own.

So she said nothing, nothing at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, hope you're having a good day.
> 
> Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, i meant to post this yesterday but completely forgot, so sorry for the delayed chapter.
> 
> Kakashi is still a terrible teacher who uses the success of one student to goad his others on and pretty much completely ignores Sakura. Again, he will get better eventually but that won't be for a while yet.
> 
> Sasuke is still an enormous dick, and while he too will eventually improve, like Kakashi, its not going to be an immediate switch and he's got a long way to go before he becomes tolerable.
> 
> Naruto is just oblivious. His canon character kind of went from being really emotionally aware to completely oblivious depending on what the plot called for, so i'm aiming for a bit of a midpoint. I'm going to try to make it so that especially near the beginning he's very oblivious, but as time goes on he becomes more and more aware. One of his main character traits is being able to connect with other people, so keeping him as completely oblivious just wouldn't work.
> 
> Kishimoto was super inconsistent with a lot of his characters and their skills, traits, and other abilities, often changing them to suit some convoluted plot point or another. I am going to try to be better.
> 
> It might seem like Sakura is letting her team just walk all over her, and in some ways she is, but she's a 12 year old who's been consistently told directly and indirectly that she was worth less than her classmates. That she is lesser because of her upbringing, and that she should be thankful to be there at all. Obviously that's going to create some self esteem issues. Not to mention she doesn't have anyone she can count on to back her up on this team, at least not verbally. Naruto may sometimes agree with her, either because he actually does or to be against Sasuke, but he doesn't do it often enough, and they aren't friends, so she feels completely out of her depth. She feels-for very understandable reasons-that her protests would be completely disregarded and that she would be shamed for speaking out at all. Because she is painfully aware of her limits and her intended place on the team, she is understandably terrified, but is trapped in her predicament with essentially no way out.
> 
> Sakura is doing her best is what i'm trying to say.
> 
> She's also really angry, so when that rage is eventually unleashed it will be glorious. Its gonna be a while tho. We're in this for the long run buckos, i hope you're ready.
> 
> Let me know what you think down in the comments, and let me know you're favorite Naruto character.
> 
> Mine is probably a tie between Shikamaru and Sakura. At least, when Sakura is being well written which is almost never. 
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome, hate will be laughed at and the gay will be strong
> 
> Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura goes on a walk in more ways than one.

Both Naruto and Sasuke had left the house before Sakura had even woken up, and she couldn’t say she was sorry for it.

Her hot rage had cooled to a low fury that made the world crystal clear. It was much easier to keep that sort of anger in check and the last thing she needed was people thinking she was overly emotional on top of being a liability.

Kakashi slid into the seat across from her. “Sakura, your job will be a little different today. Since Gato is targeting Tazuna, it’s likely he’ll go after his family as well. Tsunami needs to run some errands around the village today, so you’ll be with her.”

It could very well be that he just didn’t want her near the bridge but also still needed her absence as a reminder to the boys that they needed to try harder, but Sakura honestly couldn’t care less. At least Tsunami was pleasant company unlike…almost everyone else staying at this house.

“Okay.” She said easily. “Is Inari coming with us?”

He shook his head. “No, Naruto and Sasuke will be watching him.”

An angsty child left alone with Naruto and Inari? That was a recipe for disaster.

Then again, at least she didn’t have to deal with him. Sakura understood that not all children were easy to get along with-she’s babysat the neighbour’s kids enough times to know that-but Inari was a whole other level of unpleasant.

“I need to head out with Tazuna now.” And with that, her sensei disappeared in a flurry of green leaves.

_Dramatic much?_

Sakura finished her meal and brought the dishes to the sink.

“Oh you don’t have to do that.” Tsunami said hurriedly, entering the room with a basket in hand. “You’re protecting us, you don’t need to worry about silly little things like dishes.”

She waved the older woman off. “It’s not a problem. You’re letting us stay in your house and eat your food. The least I can do is clean up after myself.”

“Well, if you insist.” Tsunami tied her hair back as she spoke. “I’m glad you’re accompanying me. As much as I love Tazuna and Inari, it’s nice to be with another woman sometimes. I’m sure you can relate considering your entire team is comprised of men.”

Calling Naruto and Sasuke men seemed like a bit of an exaggeration. Technically genin were legally adults, but considering that most genin graduated at age twelve…yeah Sakura did not feel like woman, nor would she consider her teammates men.

Regardless, she smiled. “It does get a little frustrating sometimes. I haven’t been with them for long, so maybe it’ll get better over time.”

_~~“Its not like anyone here thinks you can actually handle anything serious.”~~ _

_~~“Real shinobi completes their missions no matter the challenges thrown their way. I’m not surprised someone like you wouldn’t understand.”~~ _

She wouldn’t get her hopes up though.

…

Going into the stores with Tsunami was just as uncomfortable as Sakura thought it would be. She felt out of place in the village, her clothes and general healthiness making it obvious to anyone who saw her that she wasn’t from here. Narrowed or greedy eyes followed them through the depressingly empty shops, and the hair on the back of her neck was constantly raised.

Considering that Kakashi probably viewed her similarly to Sasuke, it was unlikely he would send her on a solo mission with a high possibility of danger when it would directly impact their mission. Then again, maybe she was being used as canon fodder.

Oh, the thoughts civilian born shinobi had.

It was midmorning by the time they were finished, and Tsunami’s basket was…well not exactly full, but was no longer empty, and it was time for them to head back.

They would have too, if not for a large burly man stepping in front of them.

Sakura let her hands drift to her kunai pouch, stepping slightly in front of Tsunami. “Can we help you?”

He smiled broadly. “You can indeed, young lady. I was hoping to talk with my cousin. It’s been quite a while since we’ve spoken”

“You’re cousins?” She risked a glance at Tsunami who nodded tightly, a stiff expression on her face. “I’m not sure we have time.” Sakura lied, giving the woman an excuse to avoid him.

He stepped closer. “It’ll just be a second.”

Her hand closed around a kunai. “As I said, we really should be getting back. Kakashi-sensei will be waiting.” Another blatant lie, but hopefully a deterrent one.

The man’s friendly expression dipped slightly. “Listen, I’m going to have a conversation with my cousin. If you think you can come in this village and start-”

“Leave her alone Shota.” Tsunami’s voice was sharper than Sakura had ever heard it. “I told you last time that I don’t want anything to do with your ‘opportunity.’”

His smile dropped completely. “You’re a fool.”

Her chin tilted up defiantly. “At least I haven’t betrayed my village. At least I can go home to Inari and not be ashamed of what I’ve become. Can you do the same with Reiko?”

Shota flinched. “I’m trying to make sure she doesn’t starve to death! I would sell my soul to any god that asked to make sure she survived.”

“And doom the rest of the village? The rest of your family?” Her lip curled into a sneer. “May the water not take you.”

Shock flashed across the man’s face, followed by anger and something like hurt. Considering the seriousness of that statement, Sakura couldn’t blame him. She had practically wished him a lost afterlife, one where he would not be accepted into any realm, forced to wander the land of the living yet unable to interact with it.

“You-” He turned away. “I can see there’s no convincing you.”

Tsunami did not falter. “No, there isn’t.”

Shota nodded solemnly. “Then may our paths not cross again.”

Sakura didn’t release her blade until he was far out of sight, shoulders tense from a conversation that had barely involved her, and where she had felt far too out of the loop.

“Is…is that going to be something I’m going to need to worry about later?” She questioned.

The older woman seemed to force a smile. “Nothing but family drama.” She reassured her. “It’ll all be resolved soon.”

Sakura wasn’t exactly convinced.

…

Neither Naruto nor Sasuke were at the house when they arrived, which Sakura found unsurprising. Personally, training in the woods didn’t seem like much of a punishment, but the two were so determined to prove themselves and guard Tazuna, it was almost ridiculous.

Did they not understand how serious this was? The last time they’d been confronted with the enemy on this mission, they’d nearly _died_. What were they getting that she wasn’t? Why was she the only one against this?

Suddenly feeling useless, she got to her feet. “Hey, Tsunami, you mentioned you have a small pond near the side of the house. I was wondering if I could use it to practice.”

The older woman looked vaguely confused but nodded regardless. “It’s near the garden behind the house. I trust you won’t cause too much chaos?”

Sakura laughed. “No, I’ll leave that to my teammates.” She said, remembering the last time they’d been in a garden.

Had that only been a month ago? It felt as though this week had lasted a year, yet every day seemed to go by faster than a blink of an eye. Then again, the sooner this mission was over with, the better.

As promised, there was a small pond near the mediocre garden behind the house. A few sad lily pads and a stray frog within it, algae condensing at the top and sides.

_Should be the same principle as tree walking, right?_

While Kakashi had never explicitly stated it, during his fight with Raiga the two of them had walked on water, something made possible by chakra. It would be different, because water wasn’t solid, and thus always moving and not something firm enough to stand on, on its own. Considering they were on an island and were likely going to end up fighting _one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, no she was not over that_. It would be useful in case she ever got thrown in the water or needed to run across it to get away.

_~~You think this will save you? You’re a dead girl walking.~~ _

_~~Cannon fodder.~~ _

_~~Useless.~~ _

_~~Deadweight.~~ _

Sakura shook herself from those thoughts.

_How do I begin…?_

Very tentatively, she placed the tip of her sandal on the water, channeling chakra the same way the did when she went tree walking. She didn’t want to apply so much pressure that her weight was on it, risking falling in, but she also didn’t want to put so little that she would be able to tell if she was right.

Sakura took a deep breath, focusing intently on the ebb and flow of the water and how much chakra she was using. The pond was fairly still, so she shouldn’t have to adjust too much. A larger body of water would be more difficult considering the currents would be stronger and the changes of the surface more extreme.

As she applied pressure on her toes, it was as if one moment she was standing on solid ground and the next she was a second from falling through the liquid.

_Come on, Sakura. Focus._

The chakra control here was much more delicate than it had been when climbing the tree. Adjustments needed to be made constantly and there was no fixed point that she could keep in mind and then hold.

But as time passed, she became more and more comfortable with the position, slowly allowing her entire foot to touch the surface of the water. The adjusting of her chakra became more instinctual and automatic, and soon enough, she was able to stand on top of the water.

_I’m doing it!_

Sakura’s cheeks hurt from grinning. _She_ had figured out how to do this all on her own. Just her and her chakra control and some theory.

“Whatcha doing there Sakura?” A voice came from directly behind her.

“ACK!”

_SPLASH!_

…

Kakashi watched his pinkest student pull herself out of the small pond, red dress now covered in algae and mud. The end of the workday had come faster than he’d expected, and Tazuna was no doubt collapsing into bed after the amount of physical labor he’d done. The old man was tenacious, he’d give him that.

Sakura’s green eyes were filled with irritation. “Have you ever tried _not_ sneaking up on someone?”

He smiled in a way he knew infuriated people. “It’s not my fault you’re not perceptive.”

“I’ll do my best to improve on that.” She said icily, her tone cordial even as she wrung water from her outfit. “Do you need something from me?” _Or did you interrupt me for no reason?_ Went unsaid but not unheard.

Kakashi studied his supposedly weakest student out of the corner of his eye as he pretended to read, flipping a page casually. It was unusual enough for a genin to master tree walking on their first try, much less water walking after mere minutes. It would be one thing if she’d been flagged at the Academy as a prodigy or came from a respected clan that drilled their children in shinobi arts from childhood, but she was none of those things.

She was civilian born but had grasped both of these concepts quicker than Sasuke, and he had Itachi to help him. She was smarter than she let on, her plan to distract Raiga requiring an impressive amount of intelligence and acting. Despite her performance not being perfect, she had riled up the enemy enough to give them an opportunity.

Her physical combat was abysmal, but from what she’d managed to accomplish with little to no help, it was clear her chakra control was through the roof. It was impressive for a civilian born.

She'd have done well on another team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, hope you're having a good day.
> 
> This is a bit of a slower chapter, but i promise the set up will be worth it later on.
> 
> When it comes to Tsunami and her cousin that i made up, yes this will be relevant later, and i mainly created this story line to show what i think would have happened in Wave. After Gato took over, he would offer more resources to those who would join him, which in turn rose the ranks of his gang. While a lot of the citizens would reject that kind of offer like Tsunami, others like Shota would take it to save themselves or their family. And i would imagine that those who worked for Gato, would not be very well liked within Wave. 
> 
> Anyway, that's what i'm attempting to do. idk if its working or not.
> 
> As for Sakura learning how to water walk, i'd imagine since she had no one at home to help her with anything shinobi related, she would have to learn how to pick things up really quickly at school. This along with her chakra control, would be something she just developed over time to compensate for her lack of resources. With her chakra control, she had way smaller reserves than most of her classmates, so she could never afford to be sloppy, constantly forcing her to be careful, and thus developing her extremely good control overtime. Sure, some of it is talent, but i'd like to think it was more of an adaptation thing.
> 
> That's just my thoughts tho.
> 
> Kakshi...isn't super easy to write. He's such a bad teacher, but i think his character is fascinating, so i'm going to attempt to show that he's not purposefully impeding his students, he just should have never been a jounin sensei to being with. He's not stupid either, and he recognizes Sakura's intended place on the team, and is actually kind of sorry that she's been relegated to canon fodder. "she'd have done well on another team" is him knowing that if she had been put on a team that was meant to help her become stronger, she would have flourished. instead, she's on team 7.
> 
> Also, i can't believe i forgot to do this earlier.
> 
> So like, i promised to explain why Sakura's ambition was becoming a jounin, and then i just never did, so that's what imma be doing now.
> 
> So essentially, civilian born shinobi almost always fall into 3 camps. Dead, quitted or a paper chuunin. Now, there's nothing wrong with being a paper chunnin and not being the most skilled. Without those guys nothing would ever get done and the village would fall to pieces. However, civilian borns usually fall into that because they are never expected to go higher, and are at times actively discouraged from attaining a higher rank. They don't have any other shinobi family to help them out or support them, so they end up paper chuunin whether they want to or not.
> 
> Sakura isn't stupid and she is well aware of her chances of attaining Jounin rank. She is all too aware of what those in power think of her worth and where her place should be, so her deciding to become a jounin is an outright rejection. The reality of being a civilian born shinobi isn't kind, and is something Sakura will continue to struggle with for the entire story. She's not from a powerful family of clan, so she's deemed expendable, but Sakura decides that she's not going to accept that. She's deciding that the status quo can go fuck itself. To her, its not about actually attaining the rank of jounin, its about what it represents.
> 
> Things will get much rougher the higher she climbs, but that won't be until later.
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome, hate will be laughed at and the gay will be strong
> 
> Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye


	13. First Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raiga returns to the bridge, and this time he's not alone

Five days after her trip to the marketplace with Tsunami, Sasuke finally mastered tree-walking.

Sakura had known it would happen eventually, but she had hoped it would happen further down the line. Naruto wasn’t far behind the other boy, and it was clear that soon both of them would join her and Kakashi with guarding Tazuna.

She should be relieved, after all, that meant they had more manpower should they be attacked again.

_~~She didn’t want to die for them.~~ _

Regardless of how Sakura felt about it, it wasn’t like she could do anything about it. At least Sasuke was more likely to leave her alone and be quiet than Naruto was, even if he was considerably less friendly. His fierce glares made her even more sure of her decision to not mention the water walking to anyone. Kakashi knew obviously, but he wasn’t exactly likely to be jealous since he too knew how, and the fact that he was an apparently famous jounin.

Naruto’s pout was even more exaggerated than usual as he came in for breakfast, scarfing down eggs before racing out the door again, promising that he would master tree walking today.

He’d said the exact same thing yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that, and the day before that.

Essentially, Sakura’s expectations weren’t that high.

The village was covered in an even thicker fog than usual, making her even more on edge. She didn’t like not being able to have a comprehensive view of her surroundings. With weather like this, it would be all to easy for someone to hide just out of sight.

From the joyful expression on the construction workers however, that was the entire point.

“We’re getting more supplies today, and the fog makes it easier to hide our activity.” A lean, young man who she remembered as Masa explained. “We don’t have to rush as much to bring all the materials in, which is always nice.”

As he spoke, a large barge came into view, sitting low in the water. Its crew moved with practiced movements, stripping tarps from the large clumps of materials. It wasn’t long before the supplies were on the half build bridge, men and women alike straining under the weight of heavy steel and concrete.

Sakura was briefly glad that her job was protection and not labour. She wasn’t sure she’d be much use at all, not to mention that work had to be back breaking.

As she observed the workers, it became clear why they hadn’t been able to commission the village properly. A barge that size couldn’t have been cheap to build, and considering they likely had to smuggle everything past Gato, they wouldn’t’ve had an easy time of getting the supplies to begin with.

Sasuke was watching with an expression of disinterest, evidently bored by what was taking place.

It irritated her in a way Sakura didn’t know how to explain. He wasn’t like Naruto who had wanted to stay out of a genuine desire to help the people of this village or was at least born of that. No, it seemed rather clear that the only reason he had voted to stay was to prove his strength. To who, she wasn’t sure, but the sheer _arrogance_ made her want to scream.

He wasn’t stupid, which made it all the more frustrating. She expected this kind of attitude from Naruto, who was as thoughtless as he was loud, but Sasuke was smarter than that. He would be better able to recognise the risks, yet for some reason, decided that their _lives_ were worth-what? Glory? Bragging rights?

It made her furious and frustrated and sick.

Before she could get caught up in her own thought any further, Sakura noticed that the fog began to thicken.

At an unnatural and alarming rate.

Before Sakura could so much as open her mouth, Kakashi’s sharp voice cut through the area. “Everyone off the bridge.” He demanded. “Except Tazuna. You should stay close.”

Sakura’s hand closed around a kunai, drawing it out of her pouch and making her way towards their client, Sasuke by her side. Her heart was practically pounding out of her chest, though her hands were surprisingly steady.

The fog thickened even more, any and all noise from the village vanishing completely until it was only the four of them, left alone in what felt like an island-separate from anything else.

The eerie atmosphere reminded her of the stories her father had told her when she’d been younger. Tales of smiling spirits who were all too happy to lead you to your death, tales of those forced to wander for all eternity.

Sakura swallowed.

But it was no ethereal being that emerged from the fog.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Raiga drawled. “I was picking up some friends.”

The shinobi’s broad figure was framed by several others, their features too far away to pick out distinct faces. More importantly, they came by way of the shore, cutting of any easy escape route.

One man however, was dressed much nicer than the others. He had a cigarette hanging from his lips, and he bore no weapons like those around him. His expression was greedy, and almost gleeful as he hung back and let the others advance on them.

_That has to be Gato._

There was a black and grey blur as Raiga and Kakashi crossed blades once again, their movements swift and utterly deadly. Sakura kept a sliver of her focus on them, remembering how her sensei had gotten trapped the last time.

Considering they were one teammate down and surrounded by what could only be described as evil henchmen, the second Kakashi even faltered Raiga would kill him and cut right through her and Sasuke to take out Tazuna.

The mob of armed figures advanced on the three of them, their crude and old weapons settling easily in their palms as they made their way over.

“I’ll meet them head on.” Sasuke hissed. “You stick with the old man. If anyone gets past me, you deal with them.”

Sakura nodded, pushing Tazuna further behind her as her teammate lunged at a large man with a bat. It was the best plan they could use at the moment considering Sasuke was the superior frontline fighter. If she were to join him and fight at his side, she would potentially get in the way, not to mention if someone slipped past them, there would be no one left to protect Tazuna.

Because as important as the two battles taking place were, if a stray kunai were to slit the bridge architects throat, they would be for nothing.

_I need to get out of here somehow._

Sasuke exhaled an enormous fireball, screams of terror and pain filling the air and several of the civilian fighters staggered backwards. It was clear from their uneven lines and brute force tactics that they had no shinobi training, for which Sakura was grateful.

A wiry older man snuck past her teammate, a long curved knife in his hand as he rushed her. He had been wary of Sasuke, but it was clear he thought she would be easier pickings. He already had a cut across his arm and burn on his leg, but he attacked anyway.

Sakura’s heartbeat felt deafening in her ears, her grip on her kunai tightening as she dodged his first swipe.

His face twisted into an annoyed snarl and he lunged again, overextending enough that she was able to completely throw him off the bridge with his forward momentum.

But instead of a splash, there was a loud _thump!_ Partnered with a sickening _crack!_

Sakura blinked in surprise, giving a quick glance below to see a small ship with three-well, now four-men sailing it. They had the same crude weapons and loose dirty as the men fighting Sasuke.

The men who looked like they were beginning to overwhelm him.

She pulled out a handful of shuriken, aiming for joints and hopefully distracting the enemy from hitting him when he wouldn’t be able to block or dodge.

She glanced at Kakashi and quickly looked back at her own battle. He was still in a deadlock with Raiga, and no help could be expected there.

“Hey guys!”

Sakura never thought she’d see the day where she was glad to see Naruto’s stupid beaming face, but there was a first time for everything.

His shout had drawn almost everyone’s attention, his footsteps echoing across the bridge even as the clash of blades still rung out. A fraction of the tension in her shoulders melted.

That split second of relief was then destroyed as a large red-haired man hit Sasuke over the head _hard_ with the butt of his sword.

He dropped like a stone.

The world seemed to slow as Sasuke’s body hit the ground, those around him realizing the biggest threat between them and their goal had been eliminated. Some began kicking him while others turned their gaze on Sakura.

**_“SASUKE!”_ **

Naruto’s scream was a terrible thing to hear, raw and full of terror. His expression was caught between horrified and filled with rage.

Horrible as it was, his shout distracted the two closest men coming for her long enough for Sakura to shove a blade in their knee joints, causing them to collapse.

As she retreated once more, she saw a strange red haze manifest around Naruto. His normally blue eyes shifting to red, and his whiskers thickening considerably.

Somewhere inside Sakura, her self preservation instincts _screamed_ , animal instincts left over from a simpler time demanding she escape because _a monster was here and it was **furious**_ **.**

The next noise her teammate released was not human.

**_“DON’T TOUCH HIM!”_** The blond snarled, a half dozen clones appearing around him as he ripped through anyone who got between him and Sasuke.

His power was frightening, but it wouldn’t be long before he too became surrounded.

Sakura ignored her instincts screaming at her to not take her eyes off Naruto and glanced at the small ship below them.

_There’s three of them down there, and way more up here_. She reasoned.

“Get on my back.” She told Tazuna.

When he merely blinked, frozen in place she grabbed his arm harshly and put it on her shoulder, ignoring the trembling’s in her body.

“Get. On. My. Back.” She snapped, her voice made sharp by fear. “Unless of course, you’d rather stay here.”

The old man gave a furtive glance at the approaching mob and climbed on without protest. He was heavy enough to make Sakura’s knees protest, her mobility now shot to pieces and hands busy.

Sakura sent chakra to her feet, stepping onto the side of the bridge, hesitating only a moment to allow herself to adjust to the new direction the weight was pulling her.

Her progress down the bridge was slower than she would have liked despite running, but even one misstep would send them both crashing into the ocean.

One of the men on the boat noticed them, his mouth opening to shout a warning.

Sakura made a choice.

Fifteen feet above the deck of the boat, she released the chakra on her feet, pushing off the concrete pillar of the wall and practically landing on the man who had noticed them.

Pain erupted from her legs as she struggled to her feet, pushing Tazuna behind her and grabbing the hair of the one downed man before bashing it into the side of the boat with all her force.

Once, twice, he went limp in her grasp, but there was suddenly a hand bunching in her hair and throwing her backwards into a stack of crates.

Sakura’s hands dug into her pouches, a kunai coming out as she slashed wildly, only knowing she’d hit _something_ from the howl of pain.

Another pair of hands gripped her, and a dull rusty blade rested on her throat as she struggled for breath. Her back _ached_ , yet she could barely feel it through the rush of adrenaline.

“I think.” Came a low menacing voice. “That that’s enough of _that_ , you bitch.”

Any other day the insult would have made her red with fury, but now Sakura would have done anything to make that her biggest problem with the situation.

Tazuna was nearly at the edge of the boat, almost as if he’d been attempting to jump off and take his chances in the water. A thin wire wrapped around his throat, both hands having been caught between it in an obvious attempt to prevent his strangulation.

The man holding it was completely focused on the bridge architect, not paying any attention to her.

Sakura knew what she had to do here. Every lesson, every lecture, every rule in the shinobi code demanded it, but for a split second, she didn’t want to.

Sakura did not want to be the hero, because heroes got their names carved into monuments and remembered, but that didn’t make them any less dead, didn’t make their graves any less cold.

But _something_ , some sense of duty or morals or instinct propelled her to _move._

The man holding her hostage didn’t notice her hand slip into her kunai pouch, didn’t realize until she’d already thrown the blades-striking his partner’s ribs and arm-until it was too late to stop her.

Sakura let herself fall backwards, angling her body so that the blade cut across her collarbone and not throat, the wound deep and painful but not deadly.

Had the man turned the blade upwards or disengaged she would have died, but he hadn’t, so the two of them fell to ground. Her opponent took the majority of the impact, making it possible for Sakura to wrench his arm away and scramble to her feet.

Tazuna had used the distraction of her kunai to hit the man with the wire over the head with a bottle of sake, throwing him overboard in the process.

As Sakura’s gaze flickered back to her own opponent, she very nearly froze.

It was the man from the market-Shota, she thought his name was. Tsunami’s cousin.

This must be the opportunity he had been talking about. He must have been attempting to sway her into joining Gato. If Tsunami had, it would be likely the old man would be dead, considering they lived together.

“Don’t make me do this, kid.” He said in a low, gravely voice.

Sakura ached almost everywhere, and blood was spilling from her chest. Pain and desperation made the world hazy, but she pulled another kunai from her pouch and got into a shaky stance.

“I’m not making you do anything.” She said, voice trembling.

Shota shook his head and lunged.

Sakura managed to dodge the first few strikes, but she was slow from blood loss and pain, making her sloppy. His third blow caught her in the arm, his fourth nearly managing to run her through.

He was forcing her backwards, each attack intended to push her towards the end of the boat and into the choppy waves. Even if she managed to get on board again, it would likely be too late for her to stop Shota from killing Tazuna.

As she narrowly dodged another blow, instinct compelled her to trap the blade between her ribs and her torso, the blade cutting through cloth and into skin, but it was dull and didn’t go as deep as it could have.

Shota’s other hand drew a short dagger, the hilt facing her as he began his slash. He was aiming for her throat.

She was too close to the edge to dodge.

_I don’t want to die._

Sakura’s foot planted firmly on the water, chakra solidifying it beneath her feet as her hand enclosed around his wrist, forcing the blade away from her.

And directly into Shota’s jugular.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, hope you're having a good day
> 
> Was that a fun chapter for you guys? because it was a fun chapter for me.
> 
> So let's break this shit down.
> 
> Sakura not wanting to die for her teammates isn't because she doesn't care for them or think that they're worth anything, but its because she's literally EXPECTED to die for them, and she knows her chances of just being able to run away with little consequences disappear the second one of her teammates is on the field with her. It would be one thing for her to book it if she was only abandoning like, a rando civilian, tho that wouldn't be good either, and another entirely for her to leave Sasuke and Naruto on their own because the village finds them more valuable than her and she is all to aware of that fact.
> 
> Sasuke getting knocked out happened for a few reasons, but before i get people yelling at me in the comments about how i nerfed him, consider this. 1) removing plot armor isn't nerfing a character. 2) Sasuke is a skilled shinobi, but you know what else he is? 12. He's literally 12. He's not even really a 12 year old genius like Itachi or Kakashi, he's just a kind of better than average 12 year old genin who has had VERY limited experience in the field. Training is good, and wonderful, and important, but as a martial artist myself, let me tell you that it does not compare to a real fight. Sasuke is skilled, but he has had very limited field experience, and so when he is surrounded by adult fighters, even if they aren't shinobi, i don't think it is out of the realm of possibility that he would get distracted and knocked out. Again, boi is 12. one hit from an adult, especially in the head, would be more than enough to knock him out. I'm just trying to make their skillsets more reasonable, because as i've stated before, we're not going to the overblown "rasengan the size of a house enormous jutsu route in this story.
> 
> Naruto still goes feral, which is one of the reasons Sasuke knocked out, and will indeed have later consequences, because i at least try to have cause and effect in my stories. Unlike SOMEONE we all know. cough Kishimoro cough cough.
> 
> Now, for the fun part.
> 
> Sakura does indeed yeet a man and then herself off a bridge with a grown man on her back. Yes she does land on another man. Yes i had fun writing this.
> 
> Sakura hesitating is honestly very human cause like, not only is she civilian born so she hasn't been drilled since birth, but she doesn't want to die, and ya can't fault the girl for that. She knows she's more likely to and weaker than her teammates, so her hesitating to attack the guy attacking Tazuna because it might kill her is honestly valid.
> 
> Also, that's right, i made one of the dudes on the boat Tsunami's cousin who i completely made up for this very purpose. And then i made Sakura kill him. To make her first kill more painful. Because i'm evil. and it's fun.
> 
> Also yeah, Sakura teaching herself to water walk had importance. More set up and pay off! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
> 
> So yeah, Sakura killed a man and that will have lasting consequences for numerous reasons. quick action chapter like this are really fun to write, especially when they have great story implications and plot progression, so i hope you guys enjoyed it.
> 
> And for those who already could tell, i took heavy inspiration from another story for this chapter. Kill Your Heroes is a phenomenal story on ao3, and while i'm not linking the story here because i don't know how, i recommend you all go check it out. It has badass slowburn Sakura and is just *chefs kiss*
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome, hate will be laughed at and the gay will be strong
> 
> Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye


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